Tag Archive | Boldwood Books

The Clarks Factory Girls At War by May Ellis

Mar15

Fabulous New Series

The Clarks Factory Girls At Work by May Ellis is a fabulous new series which focuses on the Clarks family in Street, Somerset during 1914 and 1915.

We follow three young girls who work at the factory. They come from three very different families but are firm friends who support each other.

The plight of women was very different a hundred years ago. Women were definitely inferior to men. They earnt less, were not in positions of responsibility and were supposed to submit to men. There were snippets of talk about suffragettes. A young girl has to hand her wages over to her father until she is twenty one.

The plight of a widow with young children was precarious as they lived hand to mouth.

In another household, the father is cruel. He drinks his wages away and is handy with his fists.

We drop in on discussions about the various denominations. The Clarks family were Quakers as were many of the community but some were Church Of England. The community was divided, no one wanting inter-marriage between the denominations. It seems alien to the modern reader.

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The Graveyard Killings by Wes Markin

Mar2

Marvellous Parallel Plotlines

The Graveyard Killings by Wes Markin is a fabulous contemporary murder suspense that completely consumed me. It is the fourth book in The Yorkshire Murders series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first for continuity, understanding and character progression.

Once more, I returned to Bradford and Knaresborough as I met up with familiar faces. Policing is in safe hands as we see the relentless pursuit of justice and for answers.

The search for closure is not just found within the law enforcement agencies but individuals need answers too.

A cold case is quite literally unearthed as the search for the truth continues.

We meet a father who has been guilt-ridden and grieving for years after a terrible accident robbed him of his daughter. Time is running out as his health is deteriorating and he needs to know the truth before he dies.

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My Sister’s Baby by Louise Guy

Feb7

It Takes A Village

My Sister’s Baby by Louise Guy is a beautiful, contemporary novel about family.

Families are messy, complicated and beautiful. Families support each other and love unconditionally. Families will make a way when there seems no way… but what happens when families keep secrets, harbor resentments and deal in deception?

Families come in all shapes and sizes. We meet a ‘normal’ family within the book.

All the characters were realistic and easy to empathise with. They all demand an emotional response from the reader. I did have a favourite character – and that was Mandy.

As the novel opens, the family is dealing with the premature loss of a father. Grief is raw and grief is palpable. We all deal with grief in different ways.

The family is no stranger to problems. There are three daughters. A childhood illness left the youngest daughter mentally impaired. During the teenage years, the other two daughters were hospitalized as the one donated a kidney to the other. Their relationships are complicated, as in any family but love under pins it all. Love is greater than secrets, lies, unforgiveness and resentment. Love stands tall.

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The Austrian Bride by Helen Parusel

Jan15

Powerful

The Austrian Bride by Helen Parusel is a marvellous historical novel that will educate you as you read. The main characters are fictitious but the events are true.

The novel is set in Linz, Austria in 1938 and up to the outbreak of World War II. It was a time of great change. People voted for the Anschluss with Germany but were ignorant as to what that really meant. They believed it would be jobs, peace and prosperity. The reality was a reign of terror. Many felt guilty about voting for unification with Nazi Germany.

A character also feels guilt from an event thirty years earlier. How different life would be for the whole world if she had just made different choices.

Persecution of the Jewish people began. We hear of Kristallnacht and see the cruelty and man’s inhumanity to man. “To defy the Nazis was to be prepared to die.” – not many were that brave, however when one character speaks up, others join their voice.

As Edmund Burke famously said “for evil to flourish, it just needs good men to do nothing.” Far too many blind eyes were turned. However, there were those souls who were brave, and stood up to help those in need.

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