Christmas with the Bobby Girls (The Bobby Girls #3) by Johanna Bell
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, Wartime fiction, WW1
Read: 8th May 2022
Published: 26th November 2020
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
In the midst of war, can they find a reason to celebrate?
1915. Patrolling is the last thing on the minds of Women's Police Service recruits Annie, Maggie and Poppy right now, because Annie and her fiancé Richard are about to get married. She's been waiting for this day her whole life, but when it finally comes it brings only heartache and Annie doesn't know if she can go on.
The influx of soldiers to the capital means that the WPS's work is more important than ever, though, and Annie's country needs her. She and the girls are posted to the bustling heart of the city and she hopes the new job will distract her from her sorrow.
It certainly does that. Soon the biggest bombing raid of the war causes chaos on their patch. On top of that, Annie suspects that a group of men are forcing European refugees into prostitution and resolves to stop them by Christmas. But by the time she realises just how high up the scandal goes, she might be in too deep to get out . . .
The Bobby Girls Series is perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Daisy Styles and Call the Midwife
MY THOUGHTS:
Don't expect a festive read with CHRISTMAS WITH THE BOBBY GIRLS because about the only thing Christmasy is the title. But what a read! As with the previous two books in this charming series, the focus is on the origins of the Women's Police Service (WPS) as well as each of the women who are at the forefront of the stories. First we had Maggie in "The Bobby Girls" and then Irene in "The Bobby Girls' Secret". Now it is Annie's turn to shine.
With Irene now stationed in Grantham, Maggie and Annie now have a addition to their trio in Poppy. As the girls got to know one another, the flat they had set out to rent together welcomed their new recruit as also their new housemate. The women continue to deal with drunken soldiers and the ladies of the night plying their trade, trying to keep them all in line whilst systematically taking the pressure of their male colleagues. Most of the men were skeptical of their presence, seeing it as a disruption to their already well-oiled machine, but the women soon won some of them over with their ability to handle difficult situations and holding their own.
While Maggie and Poppy continue to patrol their patch around Bethnal Green, Annie has taken time off to prepare for her upcoming wedding to the love of her life, Richard. She cannot wait until he returns and makes her his bride, despite him returning to the Front before they can set up married life together. But Annie knows it will all be worth it in the end. On the eve of her wedding she hears a knock on the door and races to greet her fiance, only to find a stranger in a soldier's uniform standing there. The devastating news he has to deliver shatters Annie's world and she crawls back into her childhood bed and stays there where she has no intention of coming out ever again. It takes a special visitor for her to regain her confidence to return to patrolling the streets with her friends. And when she does, she discovers they have a new beat to walk.
After one final shift at Bethnal Green, Annie and her friends relocate to Hunter Street Police Station in the Holborn borough. Again they are given something of a cupboard to change in before heading out on patrol but soon win over some of their male colleagues with home cooked stews and soup in the section house. The women are then faced with a busier sector than their previous beat with the biggest bombing raid of the war and prostitution even more rife in this area.
Whilst patrolling Kings Cross Station, Annie recognises a face from the past and endeavours to investigate and uncover exactly what he is up to, without alerting her two friends. This leads her meeting Bert and the two form an unlikely friendship whilst working towards a common goal. Upon discovering a group of men are forcing European refugees into prostitution, she then resolves to put a stop to them and rescue the women by Christmas.
Although dangerous, the mission Annie then sets herself appears to be a kind of coping mechanism to deal with her grief with the propensity to land her in unfathomable danger. It is precarious to the point of recklessness. And then she makes an incredibly risky decision without alerting anyone else to her intentions. I wanted to shout at her "NOOO!!" so many times but she didn't listen...not even to her inner consciousness. Due to the depth of her grief I don't think even Annie realise the extent of what she was dealing with and how, not only stupid and reckless, but unprofessional she'd been. As a serving member of the WPS, though voluntary, she owed it to women to not only look out for and protect them but to represent them as capable and well and truly able. Digging herself into a situation from which she barely escapes is not helpful to their cause. Remember, most men believe that a woman's place is at home not in the workforce or on the streets doing "a man's job". But needless to say, Annie finds hope where she leasts expects it and resolves to see each man involved punished. All the way to the top.
I must say I enjoyed this one more than the previous one but I still find it very wordy with a lot of description. But CHRISTMAS WITH THE BOBBY GIRLS is an engaging tale that will keep the reader turning the pages to find out the fate of Annie and the other women. It is a heartbreaking story, as those of this era tend to be, but it still filled with joys and hopes as well as sadness and sorrow. While she may have joined the WPS as a quiet girl who lacked self-confidence and was unsure of herself, she has come a long way in a short time. The Annie in this story is a far cry from the Annie from the first book.
Steeped in a wealth of history from the origins of the WPS to the Nation Union of Women Workers to the Foundling hospital to the suffrage movement prior to the war, the Bobby Girls series is skillfully crafted with some heartbreaking yet heartwarming tales. CHRISTMAS WITH THE BOBBY GIRLS is another great addition to this series that not all light and fluffy but filled with more sinister and nefarious activities that face the women and help them to make their mark in the police service and take their place them in history.
Overall, another engaging tale highlighting the beginnings of changes to come for women in the Bobby Girls series..with a little Christmas surprise at the end (which I'd already suspected long before). I look forward to Poppy's story next.
I would like to thank #JohannaBell, #NetGalley and #HodderAndStoughton for an ARC of #ChristmasWithTheBobbyGirls in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Johanna Bell cut her teeth on local newspapers in Essec, eventually branching into magazine journalism with stints as a features writer and then commissioning editor at 'Full House' magazine. She now has more than sixteen years' experience in print media. Her freelance life has seen her working on juicy real-life stories for the women's weekly magazine market, as well as hard-hitting news stories for national newspapers and prepping her case studies for TV interviews.
Her first book "The Bobby Girls" was published by Hodder in 2019 followed by its sequel "The Bobby Girls' Secrets" in May 2020. The third in the series "Christmas with The Bobby Girls" will be published in November 2020.
When she's not writing, Johanna can be found walking her dog with her husband or playing peek-a-boo with her daughter.
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