What a novel: In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark alternately fascinates, and moves,
Three Berliners are caught up in a devastating scandal of 1930s Berlin: Emmeline is a wayward young art student, Julius a middle aged art expert and Rachmann. Well, who is Rachmann? Is he really an art dealer?
A novel based on a true story about Van Gogh’s paintings and the rise of Nazis Germany in the ’30s, one which concentrates on these three characters caught up in the discovery of many unknown paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. But perhaps an equally important ‘character’ is Berlin: so edgy, so louche, so conflicted by the end of the war, so at odds with tradition, so despairing, chaotic, and what’s more, a city that is in the throes of giving house room to the monstrous Nazis regime. In this melee of damaged post war psyches where anything increasingly goes, this novel encompasses not just art, but greed, and always the uncertainty which impregnated post-war Berlinl ife. Masterly. Read it I beseech you.
Available in audio, e-book and paperback. Pub: Virago
Keep the home fires burning – By S Block
1940 Great Paxford, Cheshire, when a Spitfire crashes in the village the lives of an extraordinary community of women will change forever. Francis Barden’s greatest challenge is only just beginning. Pat Simms received a respite when her abusive husband went to war but now, he’s home, Pat doesn’t know who to turn to. And for newlyweds to Teresa and Nick, the plane crash on their wedding day may just be the start of their troubles. Meanwhile the life of the Campbell family will never be the same following a devastating tragedy.
Picking up from where the TV series cruelly ended I was finally able to see what became of the remarkable women of great Paxford, did Pat ever see her lover again? Was the baby OK? What did Francis do with Noah?
I became so invested in the characters and their lives the hurdles that they had to overcome whilst the world is at war. I couldn’t put it down I was gripped from beginning to end, Block describes with accurate detail the trials that people on the home front would face. A stunning story of love friendship and bravery during a horrible time of uncertainty for the people of Great Britain.
Phone off well rounded diverse and complex characters whose lives would never be the same again, leaving you sitting on the edge of your seat, praying for another tremendous instalment divulging into the lives of Great Paxford’s WI.
Perfect for fans of Annie Clark and Milly Adams and those that enjoy TV shows such as Foyle’s war and call the midwife.
The Letter – By Kathryn Hughes
Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband she works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. whilst going through the pockets of a second-hand suit she comes across an old letter the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it, a decision that will change the course of her life forever.
Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool but hopes he can put things right. on the 4th of September 1939 he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. it does in more ways than he can ever imagine.
the letter tells the story of two women born decades apart whose paths are destined to cross and how one woman’s devastation leads to the others Salvation.
if you came across a letter dated over 30 years ago and it remained unposted and unread would you have the courage to read it and do everything possible to find out the story behind it? a beautiful story of love friendship and heartache. a page turner that would leave you believing that everything happens for a reason, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. written in 2 different time lines exploring the lives of Tina and 30 years earlier the lives of billy and Chrissy a beautiful and complex storyline that I could not stop thinking about, I laughed, I cried and I was left feeling all warm and fuzzy. perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan.
Everything but the truth By Gillian Mcallister
Do you ever check your partner’s phone? Should you?
Are you prepared for the consequences?
Everything but the Truth is Gillian Mcallister’s stunning breakthrough thriller about deceit, betrayal and one woman’s compulsive need to uncover the truth
It all started with the email. Rachel didn’t even mean to look. She loves Jack and she’s pregnant with their child. She trusts him.
But now she’s seen it, she can’t undo that moment. Or the chain of events it has set in motion. Why has Jack been lying about his past? Just what exactly is he hiding? And doesn’t Rachel have a right to know the truth at any cost?
A truly unputdownable book. I was gripped from the first till last chapter. Gillian Mcallister is a fantastic story teller and I was kept in the know, i needed to know. Everything but the truth serves as a poignant reminder that everyone has their own secret, especially from people they love. You can’t help but put yourself in Rachel’s shoes, what would you do when you discover that the man you love has been keeping a colossal secret but yet, so have you.
I am now and forever will be a Gillian Mcallister fan.