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The Steel Girls At War by Michelle Rawlins

Aug31

Warms My Heart

Steel Girls At War by Michelle Rawlins is a powerful historical novel that I became totally engrossed in. It is the fourth book in the Steel Girls series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading the previous books first in order to get to know the characters and to see their development and progression.

The book is set over the summer of 1940 in Sheffield. We return to the familiar faces who work in the steel industry. The camaraderie, love and support grow ever stronger. It is the women who pick up the slack left behind by the men going to war.

Women stepped up and into the jobs vacated by men. They still had homes to run and children to look after. They developed a network of support and love.

This book focuses in on one particular family. They are the microcosm for the macrocosm of what was happening in homes up and down Britain. We follow a young mother and her children as they wait for news on the whereabouts of a husband and father. We can understand the conflicting emotions of worry and despair needing to be balanced with remaining upbeat for the sake of the children. It is important to hold on to hope. “Without hope you haven’t got anything.”

June 1940 saw the evacuation of Dunkirk. Lives were left on hold as they wait for news.

Returning soldiers came home with more than injured bodies, minds were damaged too. PTSD moved in, altering personalities. We witness how hard it is for wives and children. Our hearts go out to them.

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The Good Liars by Anita Frank

Aug17

Wow! – So Good!

The Good Liars by Anita Frank is an absolutely marvellous historical, psychological suspense that I just could not put down.

Anita Frank drew me in from the start with my questions as to what had happened and why would a name be missing? As I read on, my responses to characters were guided by the artistic pen of Anita Frank. The further I got into the book, the faster my heart beat as the tension rose ever higher. The conclusion was superb.

The book is set in 1920. The first world war is over but it has far-reaching effects. Lives have been blighted by experiences at the Front. Not all scars are visible, many souls returned tormented. Mind ravaged lives as the battle fields lived on in their heads.

Terrible lashing rain leaves a landscape submerged, reminding the reader of the landscape of war. As the rain falls and the sky darkens, the action within a country house mirrors the weather.

The Good Liars is written within the gothic style as an old house has dark corners, attics, basements and creepy goings on.

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Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah

Aug3

Out Now In Paperback – It’s Top Notch!

Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah is a totally gripping contemporary crime drama that consumed me from the start.

Kia Abdullah is a marvelous author whose novels are always top notch. She writes gritty fiction that is always heart breaking.

In Those People Next Door we witness, with horror, the lengths that some people will go to in order to destroy others. Instead of offering olive branches, it is bitter barbs. These barbs sink in, destroying characters from the inside out as we see the damage that hurt and bitterness can do. Characters lose their morality incredibly quickly.

Once more Kia Abdullah introduces the reader to an urban neighbourhood. It is supposed to be a safe haven but proves more deadly than the estates the family left behind.

The reader sees the tensions that simmer and boil over, as tolerance is a thing of the past. There appears to be a role reversal as we witness teens acting more grown up than the adults, as they unite over common ground.

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Maidens Of The Cave by Lloyd Devereux Richards

Aug1

The Thinking Man’s Crime

Maidens Of The Cave by Lloyd Devereux Richards is an absolutely marvellous contemporary crime suspense that had me glued and guessing from the start.

The plotline is intricate, well thought out and executed. It is definitely a thinking man’s novel. There is no time to sit back and relax as the reader is immediately plunged into the action. We know the nickname of the perpetrator from the start but we do not know who it is.

We see that our upbringing shapes the adults we become – for good or evil.

The leading lady is well drawn, likable and realistic. She is tenacious in her search for the truth, preferring to go against her boss rather than have a death on her conscience.

This is a book with heightened tension throughout as the reader fears for the safety of the characters. I read with baited breath and rapidly rising heartbeat!

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