Tag Archive | Harper Collins

The Evacuee War by Katie King

Aug19

The Essence Of Village Life

The Evacuee War by Katie King is a delightful historical novel that will warm your heart. It is the third book in the Evacuee series but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed catching up with familiar faces.

The year is 1940 and the place is a village near Harrogate. The reader is in for a real treat as we follow the eleven year old twins Jessie and Connie, and their family and friends.

Being evacuated from London to stay with a vicar and his wife, the children enjoy fresh air, village life and animals. The reader is charmed by the presence of a pet pig and pony.

Peer rivalry at a new school creates problems but there is a creative solution.

The children have big hearts as they think of others who are less fortunate.

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Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Aug17

Totally Absorbing

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is a gripping contemporary psychological thriller that captured my imagination from the start.

The snowy, cold setting in a converted chapel in Scotland mirrors the tone of the novel. It is told from alternating points of view as the reader tries to work out who is the silent figure who is coming and going.

Everyone has dreams but sometimes our dreams can morph into nightmares.

The reader becomes absorbed in the action. All is not quite as clear cut as we first believe. Alice Feeney manipulates the reader’s emotional responses. There were times when my jaw literally dropped. As a pet lover I also had an emotional connection to the dog who has unconditional love for his owners. “Dogs don’t hold grudges or know how to hate.”

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Did You Miss Me? by Sophia Money-Coutts

Aug15

Warm And Highly Amusing

Did You Miss Me? By Sophia Money-Coutts is the most delightful contemporary novel looking at first love, friendship and family.

I always love Sophia Money-Coutts novels and thoroughly enjoyed this one. The tone is friendly, down to earth and honest. It is also highly amusing and I did laugh out loud at times.

Families are complicated affairs. We do not choose ours and we do not always get on with all the members.

The leading lady is absolutely charming, realistic and likable. She is easy to empathise with.

The novel explores the lasting effects of our first love – the pain, the tears, the heartache – and the love that never dies.

In contrast we witness marriages that fall apart as the leading lady is a divorce lawyer. It is painful to see the value some put on objects over people.

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Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

Aug8

A Compelling Read

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees is a marvellous historical suspense that captivated me from the start.

World War II is over but the hunt for Nazi war criminals in just beginning. Ordinary men and women were recruited in Britain to do ordinary jobs in Germany but were to seek out the worst perpetrators to bring them to justice. There was a conflict between those wanting to see justice served and those wanting to use the brains of the scientists for progress. Each agent had to decide to which department they were reporting. It was a time of concealment of truth, mistrust, deceit and the twisting of facts. Each person could only be responsible for their own choices. Each person had to live with the consequences of their actions.

The reader witnesses the war criminals trying to justify what they had done. “I saw what I wanted to see … The acceptable version of things.” Too many people turned a blind eye to the persecution of others. There were many with blood on their hands. They were guilty of doing nothing.

The war criminals used cunning and lies to blend in. Even those trained in espionage and deception would be taken in by a front of innocence.

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