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'Tis the (damn) Season by Fiona Gibson #Review

  Festive reads continue with Fiona Gibson's 'Tis the (damn) Season, published by Boldwood Books.   This year, their families can deck the bloody halls themselves... Old friends Shelley, Lena and Pearl have reached their limit with the festive preparation that has always fallen to them, and five days before Christmas, they’ve booked a mini break… without their families. Up until Christmas Eve, they’ll be sipping prosecco in the Highlands while their kids wrap bacon around 100 chipolatas and their partners brave the supermarkets. It’s exactly what they need… until they’re snowed in. Facing the prospect of Christmas 500 miles from home, each woman is forced to confront her real reasons for needing to escape: the fiance with the obnoxious family; the son’s new girlfriend who is taking over their home; the family who take their mother for granted all year round… Will the friends make it home before Christmas day? And if they do, can they really go back to their old lives?
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The Mersey Mothers by Sheila Riley #Review #ReckonersRowBook3

 

The Mersey Mothers is the third in Sheila Rigby's Reckonert's Row series, set in Liverpool in the mid-twentieth century. It was published on 19th April by Boldwood Books.


Liverpool 1953

January sees the dawn of the Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation year as the mothers of Reckoners Row unite in preparation for the celebration of the new Queen.


Meanwhile Evie Kilgaren is dreaming of her summer wedding to Danny Harris, but trouble looms for Skinner & Sons with a new rival trying to put them out of business, but no-one knows why....

Ada Harris is summoned to the bedside of her estranged husband, who, in his dying moment confesses to a deadly secret - he knows who really murdered Evie’s mam Rene all those years ago and the consequences are far reaching.

Has an innocent man been jailed and is there still a murderer walking carefree?

Will Evie get the happy-ever-after she so longs for with Danny? And will The Mersey Mothers unite and still be friends?


 My Thoughts

This is a great series which captures the spirit of the time, through the period detail, especially when you read about the characters' daily lives. 1953 was a landmark year for the United Kingdom, as it was the year HM Queen Elizabeth was crowned and I enjoyed its inclusion in the story, as it affected life in Reckoner's Row.  Life in Liverpool is still affected by the Second World War as rationing and shortages are still affecting daily life.

    At the beginning, you are shocked by an incident which happened in 1947, six years before most of the story is set. It is a powerful opening chapter which has repercussions throughout the story. The characters live in a close- knit community with a keen sense of place. There are several mysteries to unravel but ultimately it is a satisfying story, with well- drawn characters and a credible, range of emotion.

In short: Well written historical fiction with a great sense of place


About the Author

Sheila Riley wrote four #1 bestselling novels under the pseudonym Annie Groves and is now writing the Reckoner's Row series under her own name. She has set it around the River Mersey and its docklands near to where she spent her early years. She still lives in Liverpool.

 

You can follow Sheila here:  Website  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |                                                           Faceboo  |  Newsletter Sign up   |                                                           Bookbub

Book link:  Amazon UK

Thanks to Sheila Riley, Boldwood Books and Rachel of  Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

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