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The Clarks Factory Girls At War by May Ellis

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

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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Happy Ever After In Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

The End Of An Era

Happy Ever After In Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is another wonderful offering that will wrap around you as you read. It is the ninth and final book in the Bellbird Bay series which has been a total delight. Each visit has felt like a hug in a book and I am sorry that the series has ended.

Bellbird Bay is a place we all want to visit – if only for a few hours as we sink into the books. Bellbird Bay is a place of community, care and compassion. It is where people look out for each other as lives are entwined.

It is a pure delight to meet up with familiar faces as we focus in on a different main character in each book. All are absolutely charming, likable and realistic. I love the fact that many of the characters are over fifty and show that life is for living and having fun whatever your age.

We see the new set of problems that elderly parents bring – dementia that robs us of our loved one’s piece by piece while they are still alive. Also, there is the problem of diminishing independence after an accident, meaning that assisted lived is needed. This is met with stubbornness and fear – fear of selling the family home and losing memories. “I remember Mum there … but you’d take your memories with you.” Memories are always portable.

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My Sister’s Baby by Louise Guy

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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