What a beautiful and touching story. Everyone has experienced loss or knows someone that has and it’s heartbreaking to know that some people have no one to mourn them or remember them by is absolutely devastating. Such a powerful read. It will stay with me forever

What a fantastic story. I read in one sitting. Gosh how lives can change so quickly. I loved the characters . Too many to name but Captain and Smile. I knew nothing about public health funerals and you would have never known it could lead to such an amazing story. Some very sad moments and some very happy ones. The story just grips you. Read it. Ruth Hogan is a great writer. Definitely one of my books of 2025 .

Ruth Hogan does it again, another brilliant book packed to the brim with honest humanity. This time she turns her thoughts to Public Health funerals in "The Light a Candle Society". These are very basic funerals without much ceremony, run by the council when there is no-one else to organise it for them. George witnesses one of these and is shocked at how different this is to his wife's funeral that was well-attended and full of love. With an unlikely mix of a florist, fellow librarian, junior reporter, bric-a-brac man, undertaker and others, they form the Light a Candle Society that give company and respect to local Public Health funerals. There is humour, there is sadness, there might be the odd teary moment but what is most poignant are the stories that accompany that end up with no-one to attend their funeral. Definitely a book to get you thinking.

Wow..... this book is so emotional, uplifting and powerful.

George a widower works part-time in the library with Roxy - a soon to be 40 year old who never seems to find the right man.

While putting flowers on Audrey's grave he notices a hearse turns up... no flowers on the coffin and just one lady attending.... he meets up with the undertaker Edwin who informs him that the funeral is a Public Health one... that is no known relatives/ friends and the Local Authority carries out the funeral.

George is shocked, and decides there must be something he can do.... The Light a Candle Society is born..... some heart wrenching stories of people dying on their own, George tries to find out something about each of them and in turns finds friends etc. to make the funeral service one to be remembered.

Thanks to Corvus and Netgalley for a ERC.