Book excerpt: Fans of Catherine Alliott's bestselling novels One Day in May and A Crowded Marriage, will love her latest gorgeously romantic novel A Rural Affair. 'If I'm being totally honest I had fantasized about Phil dying.' When Poppy Shilling's bike-besotted, Lycra-clad husband is killed in a freak accident, she can't help feeling a guilty sense of relief. For at long last she's released from a controlling and loveless marriage. Throwing herself wholeheartedly into village life, she's determined to start over. And sure enough, everyone from Luke the sexy church organist to Bob the resident oddball, is taking note. Yet the one man Poppy can't take her eyes off seems tantalizingly out of reach - why won't he let go of his glamorous ex-wife? But just as she's ready to dip her toes in the water, the discovery of a dark secret about her late husband shatters Poppy's confidence. Does she really have the courage to risk her heart again? Because Poppy wants a lot more than just a rural affair . . . Step into Alliott country with A Rural Affair. Praise for Catherine Alliott: 'I raced through it, completely gripped from start to finish' Daily Mail 'An entertaining read that's as light as the summer breeze' Daily Express