Welcome to one of today’s three stops on the blog tour for The Stationmaster’s Daughter by Kathleen McGurl, published by HQ Digital on 7th August 2019. It will be available in paperback on 17th October 2019 and is available for pre-order now.
My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation to join the tour and to HQ Digital for my review copy provided via NetGalley.
About the Book
As the last train leaves, will life ever be the same?
Dorset 1935 – Stationmaster Ted has never cared much for romance. Occupied with ensuring England’s most beautiful railway runs on time, love has always felt like a comparatively trivial matter. Yet when he meets Annie Galbraith on the 8.42 train to Lynford, he can’t help but instantly fall for her. But soon the railway is forced to close and a terrible accident occurs within the station grounds, Ted finds his job and any hope of a relationship with Annie hanging in the balance…
Present day – Recovering from heartbreak after a disastrous marriage, Tilly decides to escape from the bustling capital and move to Dorset to stay with her dad, Ken. When Ken convinces Tilly to help with the restoration of the old railway, she discovers a diary hidden in the old ticket office. Tilly is soon swept up in Ted’s story, and the fateful accident that changed his life forever. But an encounter with an enigmatic stranger takes Tilly by surprise, and she can’t help but feel a connection with Ted’s story in the past.
Format: ebook (384 pp.) Publisher: HQ Digital
Publication date: 7th August 2019. Genre: Historical Fiction, Dual Time
Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Hive
*link provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme
Find The Stationmaster’s Daughter on Goodreads
My Review
Despite being separated by over eighty years in time, Ted and Tilly are dealing with similar challenges.
Tilly is recovering from traumatic events in her personal life and the unexpected breakdown of her marriage to Ian. Both have brought her to the brink of despair. Thankfully her dear friend, Jo, and her lovely dad, Ken, are there to support her. Moving down to Dorset to stay with her father, Tilly initially rejects his wise advice and his attempts to encourage her to focus on the future. She turns to drink to soothe the anguish she feels until a chance encounter changes everything. Soon, Tilly finds her interest piqued by what she finds while working on the archives of the railway preservation society to which her father belongs.
Ted is a simple soul who has always found relationships with other people difficult and never imagined himself having a wife or family. That is until he meets Annie and a different life suddenly becomes a possibility. However, the announcement of the closure of the railway throws Ted’s life into turmoil. How will he cope with a change that threatens his job, home, routine and – most importantly – his relationship with Annie? The author really immerses the reader in Ted’s dilemma so you experience along with him each doubt and fear of this sweet, gentle man. Luckily, Ted has his sister Norah to provide a little reassurance and wise advice, although even she is unable to prevent the tragic events that will follow.
At the end of the book, the two storylines come together in a completely satisfying way. And when the full story of the dramatic event described in the prologue is finally revealed, there is sadness but also a new understanding and appreciation of the choices made by those involved.
The skilful writing and heartfelt, poignant story really drew me into the book. The Stationmaster’s Daughter will warm the cockles of your heart and quite possibly cause you to shed a tear or two.
In three words: Touching, tender, emotional
Try something similar: The Forgotten Secret by Kathleen McGurl
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About the Author
Kathleen McGurl lives near the sea in Bournemouth, UK, with her husband and elderly tabby cat. She has two sons who are now grown-up and have left home. She began her writing career creating short stories, and sold dozens to women’s magazines in the UK and Australia. Then she got side-tracked onto family history research – which led eventually to writing novels with genealogy themes. She has always been fascinated by the past, and the ways in which the past can influence the present, and enjoys exploring these links in her novels.
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About the Book
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