BEST-selling novellist Ruth Hamilton is unashamedly Boltonian through and through. She may have lived on Merseyside for many years, but her heart belongs here.

And her powerful writing skill keeps her home town alive in her copious imagination.

Through her previous 15 novels she has taken willing readers (of which there are many) through compelling stories set largely in and around the Bolton area.

Her latest novel is as much a tribute to her native home as ever. In fact, she even prefaces Chandlers Green (£17.99, Bantam Press) with a potted history of the town and wonderfully biased travelogue.

The story is what we have come to expect from our Ruth. Finely drawn characters who slot happily into local history. A panoply of personalities to love and hate, enough twists and turns to do justice to a crateful of eels and an ending to prompt plenty of exclamations of "well I never!"

The central theme here revolves around the Chandlers, candle-makers in Bolton for 500 years who have given their name to the rural village of Chandlers Green.

But time has moved on. The dynasty now ruled by Richard Chandler is declining but he still likes to be seen as lord of the manor.

In his own home, his wife Jean is terrified of him and his grown-up children despise him. Throw into this situation Richard's arch-enemy, Alf Martindale, and the scene is set for intrigue and tragedy. And Ruth Hamilton knows how to blend the two together.

She sprinkles plenty of local locations throughout the book, from the area she remembers so well from growing up around Emblem Street to Bradshawgate and her beloved West Pennine moors.

For Boltonians, this is another cosy dose of literary familiarity -- with the edge of a fascinating tale. For everyone else, it is a chance to step into our parlour, pull up an easy chair, and steep themselves in a slice of fictional Bolton life.

Chandlers Green by Ruth Hamilton is published by (£17.99, Bantam Press)