Tanni Lydd has given up caring that her father disappeared when she was born. That is until new boyfriend Jez Morley nags her to track him down and miraculously turns up a clue which puts her on his trail.
But Jez is a professional table-tennis player who spins and deceives for a living, and soon Tanni is convinced he is playing games off the table too.
As the spins and deceptions get ever closer to home, what once seemed a game threatens to turn their lives upside down.

Perceptive and skilfully-crafted, Anne Borrowdale’s latest novel makes imaginative use of a table-tennis metaphor to explore themes of love, loss and self-delusion.  



Anne is donating £1 for every copy of doubles sold to TTK Greenhouse, the table tennis initiative of the charity Greenhouse Sport and Performing Arts. Greenhouse helps young people in state secondary schools, special schools and community clubs in deprived communities to develop positive life skills including discipline, team-work and self-respect. www.greenhousecharity.org
You can also support Anne's fundraising for Greenhouse directly at www.justgiving/annietheauthor

For a short, inspiring video of Greenhouse TTK in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxkXwORpF8



Ezine Table-Tennis Talk featured Doubles on p20-21 of its September 2009 issue
http://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/tttmag/index.html




By HC  Stockton-on-Tees
"As with all Anne Borrowdale’s books, one element I enjoyed a great deal is that it is quietly, unobtrusively, different from all the other books I've read. It's something about her penchant for writing an absorbing narrative of (what seems like) normal life, with ordinary human beings (if anyone is ordinary) trying to be and do their best, in a less than ideal world.

This is a 'Secrets and Lies' book, but with few amazing revelations - or rather the revelations, when they arrive, are not "Wow" moments, yet they are somehow unexpected because we have been living in the mind of Tanni, who does not see herself as a victim, and for whom her mum is just mum, with all her failings and foibles and affection. No character is demonised, though some are weak and selfish.

I enjoyed the glimpses of the world of competitive sport as well (and I'm not usually into sport), with its pitiless demands and cruel choices, usually faced by young people with little experience and maturity to help them survive."

By TB Tunbridge Wells
"An excellent read, weaving classic relationship sparring with complex issues of personal baggage, family history and the consequences of substance dependence. The principal characters are well rounded and believable and as the reader one is tempted to shout at them as a friend would- 'Can't you see...?' but as in life they find their own path. The consequences of secrets and deceptions are well explored using the table-tennis metaphor and the plot is full of interesting and unexpected twists. Identification I think, for any relationship!
Da dee, dee da dee!!!"

By JP Rainham
"Thoroughly enjoyable, Doubles draws you in and holds you until the very last page. I couldn't put it down! As with all her novels, Anne Borrowdale's research is meticulous, creating authentic and believable settings in which she weaves the rich tapestry of her characters' lives. I can't wait to read the next one!"

By TS London
"The inspired use of table tennis as a metaphor I felt really gives a unique backdrop to explore the subjects of love, loss and self-delusion which added hugely to the enjoyment of this book.

Although I am not a table tennis player myself, I really appreciated the use of the metaphor throughout, which uses the twists, turns and spins involved in the game to make sense of the complications of relationships and family secrets.

Also really great to see that £1 from the sale of every book is being donated to a charity which is using table tennis amongst other sports and performing arts to teach valuable life skills to disadvantaged children."




Part of the novel is set in County Clare, Ireland. Below are some pictures of significant places visited by Tanni and Jez.
 

View from top of Cliffs of Moher, County Clare

















The beach at Spanish point, Milton Malbay, as Tanni would have seen it on her first walk from the hotel
















The same beach at sunset, showing the rocks from which Joey would have swum
















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