Past Secrets ~ Cathy Kelly

I really enjoyed this. To be honest, I bought it because I liked the cover and it's about Irish families. But I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.

"Behind the shining windows and rose-bedecked gardens of Summer St.  The women of Summer Street have their fair share of secrets and soon learn that if you keep a secret too long it will creep out when you least expect it…"

Read by Robyn S.

Twopence to Cross the Mersey ~ Helen Forrester

I was quite taken with this book about a young girl whose family is thrust into abject poverty when her father's business goes bankrupt.  

When Helen Forrester's father went bankrupt in 1930 she and her six siblings were forced from comfortable middle-class life in southern England to utmost poverty in the Depression-ridden North. Her parents more or less collapsed under the strain, father spending hours in search of non-existent work, or in the dole queue, mother on the verge of a breakdown and striving to find and keep part-time jobs. 

The running of the household, in slum surroundings and with little food, the care of the younger children, all fell on twelve-year-old Helen. Unable to attend school, Helen's fear that she was to be trapped forever as drudge and housekeeper caused her to despair at times. But she was determined to have a chance and struggled, despite her parents, to gain an education.

Read by Robyn S.

A cuppa Tea & An Asprin ~ Helen Forrester

This followed a family in Liverpool from 1938 to 1965. They were extremely poor and many times it was disturbing and difficult to read, but, on the whole, I enjoyed the book. It surely shows a whole different world and makes you appreciate your life.

It gave such insight into the terrible poverty in Liverpool in the 30s - families appear to have been living in conditions not uncommon in Victorian London. It's a wonder that people survived in such appalling conditions. The plot was simple - it followed the life of Martha Connolly, her family and friends, from the late 30s to 1965. As I said earlier most of the book was and enjoyable interesting read but I didn't like the divine intervention details towards the end - it seemed a clumsy handling of what many people believe.

Read By Robyn S

Jumping the Queue ~ Mary Wesley

"This book opens with the main character, Matilda, tidying her life (literally and figuratively) in preparation for what we soon learn is her planned suicide. A curious beginning but it manages to draw the reader in to Matilda's life and immediately we're interested.

Matilda's perfect suicide is interrupted by some less-than-sensitive young people and then the whole thing is put on hold when a very interesting stranger crosses Matilda's path.

Ms Wesley's enjoyable book leads the reader to question what really makes life worth living. Is it family, friends, lovers, home, variety, health...? The more she discovers about her own life, the more Matilda grows disenchanted with all of the above."

An easy read, a compelling story, a heroine that could be anyone you know up until the wife's diary is made available then we end up in fairy land really.  Very Interesting though where-ever did this story come from.

Read by Robyn S.

Gone Girl ~ Gillian Flynn

"On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?"

Very clever, very disturbing, highly original - I was completely gripped all the way through, pretty believable.

Read by Robyn S.