Linda Standish, 55, works in a fictional town called Boransay (in Scotland, near the Hebrides) for the local Council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit. When someone passes away in their area, her job is to locate family members, organize funerals, and attempt to locate beneficiaries.
It sounds dark and depressing, doesn’t it? For most people, it could easily be the kind of job someone would dread going to every day. But most people don’t have Linda’s attitude.
Multi-Talented Jones
The author of “By Your Side” is Ruth Jones. She’s a Welsh actress, writer, and producer whose career spans theater, film, television, and, obviously, fiction. Though she’s worked in British television for many years, she achieved wide recognition as co-creator and star of the BBC sitcom “Gavin & Stacey,” by playing Nessa Jenkins. Not surprisingly, the show relies heavily on an engaging cast of UK personalities.
The show is wildly popular on that side of the pond, where she just won the 2025 BAFTA Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance. She has also penned several bestselling novels, including “Never Greener,” “Us Three,” and “Love Untold,” and has received three silver Bestseller Awards in 2026 for her novels’ sales in the UK.
Her latest book, “By Your Side,” is an immensely enjoyable read, largely thanks to the engaging, distinct voice she brings to Linda and the tiny details she imbues her with.
Linda is the kind of person you want to spend time with. She almost always leans towards a positive outlook. No matter the circumstances, she tries to truly enjoy her life. It doesn’t matter if the subject at hand is as small as an errant chin hair or her divorce from a cheating husband; she’s almost always able to find humor in the situation and a way to roll with it.
Linda’s Trials
Lately, though, life seems to be doing its best to stress-test Linda’s ability to turn her frown upside down. She loves her job, particularly the challenge “to list the lifetime achievements of a total stranger and make it sound like they were your dearest friend.”
However, she’s just learned that she’s going to be made redundant to make way for someone with better IT skills. “A computer can’t deliver someone’s eulogy,” she argues. “A computer can’t attend funerals of the unbeloved.” But her eulogies aren’t officially part of her job, HR reminds her; they’ve just been this little bonus service she’s been doing on her own.
Lately, Linda’s personal life has centered on her son, Struan, and her adorable grandson, Zander, both of whom live with her. Struan is recently separated from his wife, Lauren, whom Linda considers to be the daughter-in-law from hell—rude, overbearing, and generally insulting to everyone. Lauren is now demanding that Struan and Zander move away to be closer to her, robbing Linda of one of her great joys: being with them every day.
Then she learns that her final assignment is to look after the affairs of a newly deceased man named Levi Norman. She must travel to his home on a remote island called Storrich—in winter. Even worse, she learns that her companion will be Fergus Murray, a woodenly reserved undertaker she has known since school and never cared much for.
“It’s just, ever since school he’s been one of those people who’s always got to be right. And consequently, someone you just want to prove wrong.”
Past Lives
A major part of Linda’s job enjoyment is investigating the life of the person she’s assigned to. For us readers, we get to glimpse into past lives right alongside Linda, which is part of the fun.
At first, this might appear to be a grumpy-sunshine romance, where Linda and Fergus—or perhaps one of the local Storrichers (Sorrichians?)—might end up falling for one another.
The book takes an interesting turn with the life of dearly departed Levi, about whom nothing is known when his chapters begin. In 1982, he’s a quiet, reserved sort who doesn’t interact with any co-workers and enjoys living a solitary life. But all that will change when new neighbors move into the flat below him.
Much like the sitcom “Gavin & Stacey,” which Ruth Jones co-created, “By Your Side” is a charming, engaging blend of comedy and romance that’s heavily character-driven. Being a seasoned writer in many forms, her talents have obviously been honed to excellence, and it shows here.
The book is ultimately an intimate soap opera, enabling readers to delve into well-crafted, minutely-detailed lives that easily draw you in. It might be a bit overlong, and Linda’s story takes a backseat to Levi’s for a while. This interrupts the momentum, but all that could easily be considered nitpicking.
At its core, however, “By Your Side” is a heartfelt message about enjoying life to its fullest, no matter what life throws at you. This is a laudable sentiment and a worthwhile read.
‘By Your Side’
By Ruth Jones
Bantam: June 8, 2026
Hardcover, 400 pages
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