This is a good solid read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It spans decades and generations and delivers stories of growing up, and the dysfunction that surrounds that.
We start in the present with Nate Ray who is so down on his luck it has all but run out on him. His relationship with his son, Brandon, himself soon to be a father, is strained. The one with his own father, Ronnie, wise but, when summoned by him to help after the death of his sister, Nate's aunt, he has no choice to agree. Make or break time, maybe... nothing to lose anyway...
We then switch focus to Electra Ray who is planning to leave her husband. Seeking out a better and safer life for her and her son. She has a plan, a place to go, a person to be with, she just has to get there.
And then there's Cherie and her mother who are packing up Cherie's grandmother's estate. She discovers papers that both interests and intrigues her and which require further investigation, so she enlists her father to help.
It's all interconnected and convoluted and beautiful. I really can't do it all justice in a review. I haven't the words. It's horrid and wonderful all at the same time. Nature and nurture shaping people's lives. Determination born of necessity. How the past, recent and long ago, leads the present. And it's emotional. All the feels had me rooting for various people most of the time. Spoilers prevent me from going into detail.
It jumps around in time and flits between first, third and - interestingly enough - second person. That took a bit of getting used to. But it was always obvious when we were and who we were with. Even given that we follow several people in multiple timelines. It was always easy to follow and that's usually not always easy for me. The skill of the author I guess!
And the characters, as always for this author, are all so well described. So easy to connect with - both positive and negative.
And the story gets on with itself very well indeed with no waffle or padding. The settings are described in accordance with complementing and progressing the narrative. But it is integral at times and could also be a character in its own rights as it is influential.
All in all, another winner from one of my go to authors. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. Audrey374 17

This author has the extraordinary gift of making you feel you're sitting with him, shooting the breeze, having a beer and he's telling you the story. What a gift to have.

This is a story of family violence, dysfunction, and, perhaps, redemption, told across four timelines.

The story begins with Nate Ray, he's living in a run down trailer, drinking way too much and doesn't have the best relationship with his son or his dad. He receives a call from his elderly dad, Ronnie, asking him to take him to Montana. From here we are told the sad tale of Ronnie's upbringing and we meet his family and other people from his childhood, good and bad. Each chapter takes us on a journey of each family member and their lives over the years.

I was totally immersed in the story from the first page and found it difficult to put down. It's one of those books you read well into the night and go back to it as soon as you wake up.

Yet another heartfelt, beautifully written book by this very talented writer. Huge 5 stars.



Sue Purbrick414 2


I adore Craig Lancaster’s writing, and have been a huge fan ever since reading his Edward books (if you haven’t read them, do! Start with 600 Hours of Edward). He has a wonderfully lyrical style, that’s almost poetic. And he gets ordinary people. Even better, he puts them on the pages of his books in ways that are simply extraordinary. Dreaming Northward is no exception. It’s a journey into the lives of a family that’s had its share of abuse, pain, dysfunction, love and hope. I really enjoyed all the different threads of the story, but I must admit I found I really had to concentrate as the story does jump around a lot - across characters, settings and eras. And the author also plays with points of view, using the unusual second person for some chapters, which I also found a little confusing. Perhaps reading it a few chapters at a time, often in bed after a glass of wine, wasn’t the best idea! 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
1 Aimee46 1 follower

I got muddled up so forgot about this ARC of Dreaming Northward by Craig Lancaster. I'm only a few chapters in so far, getting to know Nate and his family setup. The timeline bounces from modern day to the 70's when he was a child and looks at his relationships. As a child he's described as "perspicacious" which (after a Google) meant that he was insightful. This quality doesn't seem to translate to his adult life but I'm interested to see how the plot develops.

I will add to this review as I move through the book :)

Edited to add: DNF I couldn't get through this. Too many characters, don't care about any of them. Too many different times, places and people and can't pick out a single thread. Life is too short to keep reading something I'm not enjoying. ? At a push. Maddy554 9

I was so excited to read this as I am a massive fan of Craig Lancaster. Unfortunately, for me this wasn’t one of his best. I found it way too confusing as it had a huge cast and switched around between the timelines. Maybe a key at the beginning would have helped.

There are 4 different timelines, with 4 sets of people, and then near the end you see how all the people weave together very cleverly and it all makes sense.

I really enjoy his writing style, and enjoyed the individual stories, I just found it a little confusing to keep in my head who was who so 3.5 stars for me, rounded up to 4. Vanessa Wild551 18

A multi timeline dysfunctional family drama spanning from the 1950s through until 2012. I enjoyed this book but did find it confusing at times - I had to make notes! It’s quite the puzzle and it’s not until the end when all the dots join up that the final piece of the jigsaw drops into place. There are a great cast of characters, however, who are clearly defined with their own individual personalities, making it easy to identify them. It’s quite a sad story in some respects but it flows along nicely and ends on a hopeful note. It’s about how the past affects the future and how those concerned deal and come to terms with it. An engaging and worthwhile read.tbc Leah417

It is always a pleasure to read Craig Lancaster’s books. I enjoyed all the characters, but this one was sort of choppy. Having split timelines with different narrators is the norm these days. This book has that but it really got confusing with Cherie having her own split timeline amongst all the others.
However! The story is absolutely there and very readable. His characters are so very human and are portrayed in a relatable way. It all ties together and I’m glad I got it in hard cover, as I will definitely read it again. Arkgirl155 10

Craig Lancaster is an author who has the ability to create interesting characters who, though often very flawed, have the ability to engage and move you. This is another interesting and challenging read that addresses some incredibly tough issues; alcoholism and abuse are addressed as the novel twists and turns back and forth over several generations. It isn’t always easy to hold all the characters and their timelines in your head but as the story progresses the threads gradually get twisted together in a way that I found gave an ultimately, hopeful ending that I found satisfying. It isn’t always an easy read but I will keep returning to Lancaster’s work as I find he manages to create believable, interesting and rounded characters that make me think! Sue13 3


This is a new author for me wasn't sure at the beginning if I would read another by him. It was hard to keep up with and I got easily confused.
It jumps around alot through different generations and time zones. There are three different stories all going off in different directions it's only when you get into it you realise they are all connected and it starts to make sense. I nearly gave up on it several times but glad I persevered I did enjoy it but found it hard at times.
Katie Ludlow47 3

I’ve read previous books by Craig Lancaster so was keen to read this, it didn’t disappoint.

This is an in depth story, looking at characters at different times in their lives. I found it fairly easy to follow.

The story flowed well it made for an enjoyable read. Liz90 1 follower

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