Author: whatcathyreadnext

#30DaysOfBookBlogs #BookReview Mrs P’s Book of Secrets by Lorna Gray

whatcathyreadnext1 Comment

 

It’s a pleasure to be bringing you my review of Mrs P’s Book of Secrets by Lorna Gray (published under the title The Book Ghost in the US). Thanks to Lorna for inviting me to mark publication of her book by taking part in her month long celebration of book bloggers, #30DaysOfBookBlogs.

UK (2)About the Book

The Cotswolds, Christmastime 1946: A young widow leaves behind the tragedy of her wartime life, and returns home to her ageing aunt and uncle. For Lucy – known as Mrs P – and the people who raised her, the books that line the walls of the family publishing business bring comfort and the promise of new beginnings.

But the kind and reserved new editor at the Kershaw and Kathay Book Press is a former prisoner of war, and he has his own shadows to bear. And when the old secrets of a little girl’s abandonment are uncovered within the pages of Robert Underhill’s latest project, Lucy must work quickly if she is to understand the truth behind his frequent trips away.

For a ghost dwells in the record of an orphan girl’s last days. And even as Lucy dares to risk her heart, the grief of her own past seems to be whispering a warning of fresh loss.

There are no white shrouded spectres here, no wailing ghouls. Just the echoes of those who have passed, whispering that history is set to repeat itself.

Format: ebook (400 pages)                        Publisher: One More Chapter
Publication date: 14th December 2019 Genre: Historical fiction

Find Mrs P’s Book of Secrets on Goodreads

Purchase links*
Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

My Review

I really enjoyed how the author conjured up the slightly antiquated atmosphere of the bookshop, publishing office, print room and attic which are the main settings for the story.

The story progresses at a gentle pace with the occasional moment of melodrama but a lot of the reader’s time is spent inside the head of Mrs P as she continually seeks to interpret other’s words, actions, gestures and emotions, particularly those of the new editor, Robert Underhill. Whilst much personal interaction is, as the author so aptly describes it, ‘an endless dance around the edge of misunderstanding’, at times this introspection and constant second-guessing risked distracting from the story. However, I can also see it reflected Mrs P’s own uncertainty about her position, how others regard her and her abilities, and the general reluctance of many to talk of things related to the war. So many questions that can’t be asked for fear of touching on some hidden trauma.

The mystery surrounding the young girl mentioned in the book Robert Underhill is editing reflects one of the underlying themes of the book, that the dead still ‘exist’ as long as someone remembers them or their presence is recorded in some way, whether through stories, artefacts or even the places they lived. ‘The ghosts of this world are all around in the words and actions of those who have gone before.’ Eventually Mrs P reaches a point where she can reconcile herself to the loss of her husband and the life they might have had, and to begin to see another fulfilling future for herself.

Mrs P’ s Book of Secrets is a thoughtful, tender exploration of the legacy of war and how people face the challenges of making new lives for themselves.

I received a review copy courtesy of One More Chapter via NetGalley.

In three words: Gentle, reflective, insightful

Try something similar: A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier (read my review here)

Author Lorna GrayAbout the Author

Lorna Gray was born in 1980 in Bedfordshire. Her relationship with the glorious countryside of the Cotswolds began many years ago when she first moved to Cirencester. She has been exploring the area through her love of history, adventure and romance ever since.

This is Lorna’s fourth post-WWII mystery. Her three previous novels are In the Shadow of Winter (2015), The War Widow (2018) and The Antique Dealer’s Daughter (2018). She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband.

Connect with Lorna

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

 

#WWWWednesday – 15th January 2020

whatcathyreadnext6 Comments

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Wordsand then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

A book for a blog tour later this month, an audiobook and the book chosen for me for the latest Classics Club spin.

A Messy AffairA Messy Affair by Elizabeth Mundy (eARC, courtesy of Constable)

The only way is murder…

Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner working in London, is forced to brush up on her detective skills for a third time when her cousin Sarika is plunged into danger.

Sarika and her reality TV star boyfriend Terry both receive threatening notes. When Terry stops calling, Lena assumes he’s lost interest. Until he turns up. Dead. Lena knows she must act fast to keep her cousin from the same fate.

Scrubbing her way through the grubby world of reality television, online dating and betrayed lovers, Lena finds it harder than she thought to discern what’s real – and what’s just for the cameras.

TBR#7KatherineKatherine by Anya Seton (ebook)

This classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed history—that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family.

Set in the vibrant 14th century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who ruled despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already married Katherine. Their well-documented affair and love persist through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption.

This epic novel of conflict, cruelty, and untameable love has become a classic since its first publication in 1954.

Heaven My HomeHeaven, My Home (Highway 59 #2)by Attica Locke (audiobook)

Nine-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he’s alone in the darkness of vast Caddo Lake, in a boat whose motor just died. A sudden noise distracts him – and all goes dark.

Darren Matthews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; after the events of his previous investigation, his marriage is in a precarious state of re-building, and his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who’s never exactly had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she’s not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.

An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town where the local economy thrives on nostalgia for ante-bellum Texas – and some of the era’s racial attitudes still thrive as well. Levi’s disappearance has links to Darren’s last case, and to a wealthy businesswoman, the boy’s grandmother, who seems more concerned about the fate of her business than that of her grandson.

Darren has to battle centuries-old suspicions and prejudices, as well as threats that have been reignited in the current political climate, as he races to find the boy, and to save himself.

Recently finished

The Lady of the RavensThe Lady of the Ravens by Joanna Hickson (eARC, courtesy of Harper Collins and NetGalley)

Two women, two very different destinies, drawn together in the shadow of the Tower of London:

Elizabeth of York, her life already tainted by dishonour and tragedy, now queen to the first Tudor king, Henry the VII.

Joan Vaux, servant of the court, straining against marriage and motherhood and privy to the deepest and darkest secrets of her queen. Like the ravens, Joan must use her eyes and her senses, as conspiracy whispers through the dark corridors of the Tower.

Through Joan’s eyes, The Lady of the Ravens inhabits the squalid streets of Tudor London, the whispering walls of its most fearsome fortress and the glamorous court of a kingdom in crisis. (Review to follow)

Magician and FoolMagician and Fool by Susan Wands (ebook, courtesy of the author)

Pamela Colman Smith begins her career as an artist at the end of the Victorian Age at the Lyceum Theatre, where she grows from innocent empath to seer and channeler; creating her now world-famous deck of tarot cards.

Introduced to The Golden Dawn cult by Bram Stoker, the second in command at the Lyceum Theatre, she is commissioned to create a tarot deck for the members to use in their quest for magic. Golden Dawn’s most evil member, Aleister Crowley, becomes obsessed with unlocking the mysteries of the Tarot. His obsession peaks when he sees the power of her deck and realizes he can create a rival deck, leading him to manifest magical power to harm Pamela’s incarnates of her cards. (Review to follow)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

Hitlers SecretHitler’s Secret (Tom Wilde #4) by Rory Clements (eARC, courtesy of Zaffre and NetGalley)

In the Autumn of 1941, the war is going badly for Britain and its allies. If the tide is going to be turned against Hitler, a new weapon is desperately needed.

In Cambridge, brilliant history professor Tom Wilde is asked by an American intelligence officer to help smuggle a mysterious package out of Nazi Germany – something so secret, even Hitler himself doesn’t know of its existence.

Posing as a German-American industrialist, Wilde soon discovers the shocking truth about the ‘package’, and why the Nazis will stop at nothing to prevent it leaving Germany. With ruthless killers loyal to Martin Bormann hunting him down, Wilde makes a desperate gamble on an unlikely escape route.

But even if he reaches England alive, that will not be the end of his ordeal. Wilde is now convinced that the truth he has discovered must remain hidden, even if it means betraying the country he loves . . .