Every new book Ruth Jones writes becomes my favourite, and By Your Side is no exception. I devoured it.
A story full of laughter, heartbreak and complex characters, I adored Linda; she kept me turning the pages till way past my bedtime.
Another absolute cracker from Ruth Jones.
Highly recommend.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this rollercoaster of emotions book

well where to start with this one... can this author write or what, this is family drama at its best

in this book we find the happy times sad times and even the emotional sides to family life and all the drama

there are multiple viewpoints but it doesnt distract from the storyline it enhances it so that you can follow the storyline as it unfolds and boy does it do that....

but mainly its linda and levi storylines that bind it together

you wont be disappointed with this book though at times and you may find a little tear will appear at times.... but then there are the times you laugh out loud...

i cant wait to read the next book by this author

Ruth Jones- such a great writer. This book is one of my favs this year.

Linda’s work to track down Heir’s leads her to her final case before retiring. What really happened in Levi’s life.

Happy and slightly tragic all at the same time. A well written well rounded double hander writing from both Levi and Linda’s perspective.

Poor Levi really pulled at my heart strings. Really good book.

Ruth Jones- this was another triumph

By Your Side

By Your Side by Ruth Jones

Firstly, my thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and the author Ruth Jones for the advanced reading copy of this book in return for an honest review!

This book is expected to be published on 22 May 2025.

The main character Linda Standish, is a humorous, feisty and delightful woman working in the Unclaimed Heirs Unit of her local council in Scotland. Linda helps find heirs for the dead who die alone and to tie up all loose ends - both family and financial. Her warm personality enables her to ensure the best outcomes for all involved.

Linda is a widow and her previously married son and her grandson live with her following the breakdown of his marriage. Her life is suddenly turned upside down when she’s offered voluntary retirement rather than redundancy when her role is changed. This book follows her last case and is written from her own point of view and that of Levi Norman, a Welshman found dead in his cottage in a remote Scottish island.

This book was an absolute joy to read! Linda’s emotional and physical journey throughout the case and coming to terms with her past and present is an experience not to be missed. Further, Levi’s life appears gradually as the book progresses with all the highs and lows.

All of the characters were lovingly wrought and felt real. I laughed and cried and laughed again.

I loved this book!

No spoilers from me but, whether you already know and love her works or if she is new to you as an author, Ruth Jones is a spellbinding storyteller. I raced through this book and had to force myself to slow down so I didn’t have to finish reading it.

A must read! Five stars!

This book will be reviewed on Goodreads, Facebook and Amazon UK!

I’ve enjoyed all of Ruth’s books and this one was no exception.
Linda enjoys her job, as unusual as it working with the estates of deceased people without any living relatives. She also loves her son and grandson so it’s not a bad life. Until a couple of changes mean her world is turned upside down….
Levi lives alone and likes it just that way. Until a young couple move in downstairs and his life is turned upside down….
But what connects Linda and Levi?
I really enjoyed this book. Would recommend,

A thoroughly enjoyable read. The main character Linda, is very relatable and deals with issues in her personal life and regarding her job. She has an unusual job working in the Unclaimed Heirs Unit, which allows for her to discover Levi's story. She travels to a remote Scottish island and there is a strong sense of place. At the same time her son is trying to make his marriage work which means he and Llinda's grandson moving away. The story deals with many serious issues but balances this with humour and positivity. It finished too soon and I would love to read the next part of Linda's adventure.

I loved this book. I could leave that as my entire review and feel content. Zero negatives, I loved everything about it. I read it in one sitting as once I'd started, I couldn't put it down and every moment was a delight.

Characters can make or break a story for me and when they're done right, there is something so lovely about sitting with fictional people for hours and feeling connected to them. I fell in love with this set of characters, each and every one of them. Linda was a gorgeous woman inside and out and I loved reading her. She was funny, kind, loving, witty and vulnerable whilst also being solid for the people she loved. Levi hit me in all the feels and I every time I read his perspective I wanted to give him a big massive cwtch. He was such a loving and gentle man who made a mistake that followed him until the moment he passed and I wanted to take his pain away so badly.

The plot and each character arc was beautiful and written with such warmth with love leaping from each page. A book that can make me feel sad but also make me laugh is such a winner for me and this struck the perfect balance between the two. I adored it so much and I expect nothing less from Ruth Jones. I'll be thinking about this story and its characters for some time I imagine; as well as how I get a job in the Unclaimed Heirs department of my local council.

Ruth Jones the queen of the emotional rollercoasters does it again!

This is a wonderfully told story with multiple points of view, with heart joy and sadness - as always Ruth Jones understands people and relationships and portrays them beautifully across generations and this new book is no different.

When Linda in her role at the council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit has one last case before retiring, takes her on a trip to an island off the coast of Scotland, where her adventures begin and she is absorbed into the life of dead Welsh Man Levi Norman. The story takes you on a journey through different times as well as perspectives.

It had me laughing out loud and crying my eyes out!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Wow. What a book. I did not expect the journey I would go on with these relatable and real characters. This is a story that is raw and real. Not full of 'perfect' characters, but honest and raw real life. I began reading this whilst on holiday in Galloway, it felt like perfect timing.
I will be recommending this book to all book lovers in my life, and purchasing for my Nanna's birthday.
My first Ruth Jones book and I am so impressed. Its a book that truly sticks with you and I was in tears at so many points. Incredible book which I highly recommend.

Interesting storyline with Linda’s job of searching out long lost heirs. The characters were interesting and the back story heart warming.

I guess the question most important here is: would I recommend this book? In as much as I read it all and found it gently funny, bittersweet and really liked the main characters, yes, I would recommend. But - I genuinely expected something more tightly written by this particular writer, who's so clever and who has created such 'whole people' in previous work. Here there were too many side characters who were too 2D; a bit shoehorned in to create funny scenes I think would be brilliant on TV, but tricky to make genuinely funny in a book.
The development of the lead characters-Levi and Linda - was great, but there was a lot going on elsewhere we just didn't need to know and didn't help move the story on.
It felt like Ruth Jones was visualising how this would work on TV and then writing it as a novel, rather than the other way round.

An immensely enjoyable book. Despite reading murder mysteries I really enjoyed this book. It flowed well keeping a good pace. Linda works for the local council department for missing heirs. When Levi's body is found, she is sent to the Hebridean island with the undertaker to retrieve his body and sort through his possessions in search of any relatives. Despite being light-hearted and humourous, there is also sadness and regret. Although very much a book, I could imagine it as a three parter on TV.

Ruth Jones is now one of my “must read” authors. She writes the most brilliant fully rounded characters who are totally human with the sort of flaws that are believable and honest.
I think Linda might be her best yet, a woman who is suddenly at the end of her career and with an empty home. She doesn’t wallow, she takes the last case of her career and fully commits to solving it. Along the way she embraces the chance to make new friends and take her life in a different direction.
By Your Side is charming, funny and very sad in places. I loved the other story of Levi, her last case, and how he came to his final resting place. Another flawed character, who made decisions with the best of intentions.
What a brilliant book, 5 stars from me.

This book was an absolutely wonderful read. Ruth Jones creates characters who are warm, well rounded, sometimes flawed but always completely human. This novel deals with some really difficult themes, but in such a way that you find yourself laughing and crying throughout. Beautifully written and a real must read. Thank you so much for this arc.

Another winner from Ruth Jones, she is able to write about people's lives ( and deaths) with empathy and clarity and I particularly like that Linda was a mature woman with good and bad life experiences that had shaped her personality.
At the story's core was the well worn message that life is short, make the most of all your relationships while you can, but Ms Jones managed a fresh retelling and made me laugh and cry along with her characters.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

Linda Standish works for the council's unclaimed heirs unit, helping to track down the relatives of people who have died alone. As she approaches retirement she has one final case to solve, that of Levi Norman. Levi was a Welshman who spent his final years on a remote Scottish island, keeping to himself. It's up to Linda to travel to his home and bring him back to the mainland, hoping to find some clues to his relatives in the process.

I was a bit slow getting in to reading this one. At first I thought there was something about the writing style that wasn't gelling with me, but I think it was actually more because I found Linda frustrating. At the start of the book we learn a lot about her strained relationship with her son's ex, and there was a lot about how Linda handled this that I found incredibly annoying.

Once the story really got going and Linda travelled to the island I started enjoying the book much more. Levi and his story was a touching (and heartbreaking) story to read too. Levi was such a kind soul, it was incredibly sad thinking about how his life played out.

I particularly enjoyed the friendship and banter that built up between Linda and Fergus Murray. I had a good chuckle at the perpetual use of full names - there's a couple of people in my social circle that always get called by their full names and nobody really understands why, but we all do it.

This is the first book I've read by Ruth Jones, but I'll definitely be looking into her other works. Although there was a melancholy undertone to this, the overarching feeling from the story is one of acceptance and second chances.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK and Transworld Publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve read a book by Ruth Jones. I’m aware I can be a bit snooty about celebrities who decide they can also write books. But in Ruth’s case, I’m delighted to find out that she absolutely can write amazing novels that draw you in and hold you tight. And now I’m in for a real treat as I’ll get to read all her previous books.
By Your Side tells the story of two unconnected people whose stories overlap through unusual circumstances.
In her role at the council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit, Linda Standish investigates the lives of those who’ve died alone and tracks down any living relatives. Before she retires, Linda takes on one last case – that of Levi Norman – a Welshman who made his home on a remote Scottish island for the past five years. Travelling with her arch nemesis Fergus Murray, and helped by a cast of eccentric local residents, Linda searches for clues to a lost life. And in the process, unexpectedly makes new friends, and discovers things about herself she never knew.
Just at the point we feel sadness at the way grief, or bad decisions can shape an entire life, Ruth reminds us that kindness, understanding and love can exist alongside the despair. Ruth writes with real warmth and affection for her characters and I completely lost my heart to the people she created as they seek in their own ways to cope with loss and the tragedies that life has thrown at them.
This life-affirming story of unlikely connections is part amateur detective, and part romance, but all heart, and I was swept up in this humorous, clever and observational novel.
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC

I’m such a huge fan of Ruth, not just because she’s a fellow welshie! and receiving this book as an arc was such a privilege.

I love Ruth’s writing and this book is no exception. Every now and then I find a read that really hits me with the “life is short” feels and this was it.
So beautifully written and really had me in deep thought.
The story was heartbreaking but also heartwarming with just the right amount of funny that Ruth is so great at.

Such a feel good read!!
5⭐️

'Doesn't everyone deserve a farewell? Even if there's only one person there to say goodbye'?

Linda will miss her job at the Unclaimed Heirs Department. She has just one last case (on an island in the Outer Hebrides if you can believe it) before takes an early retirement. To be honest, for her, the job was more than just shuffling paperwork, she enjoyed piecing together disparate clues in order to give people a personalised send-off, an acknowledgement of their lives, with love. Levi Norman, her last case though is puzzling, he was clearly loved by his wife and daughter and had remained close to his daughter until relatively recently. Why then, did he pass away so far from home, and alone?

'By Your Side' is told from two alternating POVs, Linda's and Levi's. As Linda uncovers more of Levi's story, she learns how not facing difficulties in your life- hiding from them, burying them - can have dire consequences and maybe it's time for her to make some real changes.

This story is so heartwarming and ticks so many boxes: small-town cosiness, amateur sleuthing, romance, and life-affirming. I'm sure many readers, regardless of what your mainstay genres are, will enjoy this story.

'Thing is, we're none of us ever truly, completely ourselves with anyone. Nobody knows our deepest, darkest secrets or who we really are'.

4.5

Oh, Ruth Jones, that wasn't fair. You made me cry. What a truly lovely story.

By Your Side is split onto two narratives. The first is the story of Levi Norman, a solitary man living on the tiny island of Storrich. Levi is an annual visitor to the local pub where every year he raises a glass then leaves again. This year is his last visit.

The story of how he ended up on Storrich has to be discovered by Linda Standish who works in the Unclaimed Heirs department at the Council. She's the woman who arranges a funeral and tracks down survivors when someone dies seemingly without a family to make the arrangements.

The two stories run side by side as we discover Levi's difficult past and Linda's interesting present. Both are people with secrets that have changed their lives. Can their coming together at this time mean that a brighter future is in store for Levi's family and Linda's future?

I read and enjoyed Ruth Jones first novel but, for some reason, haven't read any others until now. I think I enjoyed By Your Side even more. Ruth is such a talented writer who has spent years honing her skill. She has a knack for writing wonderfully engaging and sympathetic characters whilst not ignoring their obvious flaws.

I loved Levi and Linda. Their stories made me cry and laugh. Linda is as feisty as Levi is calm. The story of Linda's involvement in solving the mystery of Levi is beautifully done. I enjoyed every part of this novel. Ruth Jones is one of the very few writers whose love scenes don't give me the ick. She writes so sensitively. Can you tell I'm a huge fan. Even more so after reading this. I'm going to go back and read the ones I've missed and I'll look forward to what comes next.

Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.