‘Beggar Bee Nameless’ by Stephen K Easterbrook

9781912092451

A powerful and uplifting tale of two intersecting narratives, Beggar Bee Nameless follows Deceased Affairs Officer Shane Ellis’s investigation to uncover the name of a recently deceased beggar.

Although a skilled investigator, Shane has unprocessed grief from a loss of her own, and the case weighs heavily on her. As she journeys through the streets of Manchester in the hope of unearthing his identity, we are immersed in the life of the Nameless – the once-christened Red Milliner – including the tragic account of his unloved upbringing and escape from home.

The unlikely companionship between Red and a fellow vagrant, the fierce and enigmatic Gracie, pits his gentle innocence, as someone newly on the streets, against her captivating grasp of the brutal reality. Product of an abusive childhood, she is convinced that a homeless life is the only life worth living and has found the means to survive through her principles known as the Beggar’s Code.

Shane’s investigation soon leads her to the story of Red and Gracie. Through their dignity against the odds, she finds the key to overcoming her own loss in a tale of grief, love and redemption, which poses fundamental questions for us all about what it means to have a home.