The Crone of Midnight Embers by Iris Beaglehole

Why don’t more 60-something-year-olds get to have fun magical adventures?

Delia Spark is caught in a maelstrom. Her former life as a London theatre director is on the brink of implosion amid a scandalous divorce, a tarnished reputation, and, for reasons she cannot fathom, things keep spontaneously combusting around her. Her sixties were supposed to be peaceful, but now even her grown daughter won’t return her calls. Escape is the only option.

In the remote village of Myrtlewood, she seeks solace, not suspecting that in this quaint haven, far stranger adventures await than the urban chaos she left behind. Delia is oblivious to the undercurrent that her arrival stirs. Amid whispers of magic, she finds herself on the precipice of an extraordinary transformation.