REVIEW: The Woman Outside the Walls by Suzanne Goldring

The Woman Outside the Walls by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, Wartime fiction, WW2, Holocaust

Read: 17th October 2022

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Published: 18th October 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

I always knew it would come out one day. They are finding everyone who has stayed hidden. They would have come to me in the end.

Hamburg, 1942 Seventeen-year-old Anna knows she can never tell her proud parents the truth about where she is going. She must hide the fact that she is pregnant, that the father of her unborn child is dead and that she is on her way to a special maternity home, where her baby will be given to a perfect family. She tells herself that this is the best solution. She doesn’t expect to feel the rush of love for her beautiful baby boy in the white blanket, or the devastation when he is snatched from her, never to be seen again.

Desperate to forget her grief, she sees an advert for a secretary in a prison, far away in the east. Days later, she leaves Hamburg, travelling eastwards by train, feeling as if a whole new life is about to begin. It is the biggest mistake she will ever make.

London, 2016 Ninety-year-old Anna sits on the edge of her bed, hands trembling, eyes brimming with tears, as she looks at the picture of the soldier in the newspaper. Her friends and neighbours know her as a kindly old lady who bakes cakes and always has time to listen to their troubles. They don’t know about the hated green uniform she burned, the memories of the prisoners she tried to help and the bombed and blackened city she once called home. But now the time for a reckoning has come, will revealing the truth free Anna or destroy her?

A gripping read that will break your heart and have you hooked, perfect for fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and My Name is Eva. The Woman Outside the Walls will take you on an emotional journey and show you that in war, even when you are on the wrong side, you can still do the right thing…

MY THOUGHTS:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Suzanne Goldring's heartbreaking dual timeline tale THE WOMAN OUTSIDE THE WALLS.

I have read all of Suzanne Goldring's books (my favourite still being "My Name is Eva") and this is one that is slightly different though it tells something of the same story. But through the main character's eyes we see something of a different picture. Again it is told through the past and the present as the secrets of the past come to light in the present day. Which leaves us with something of a moral dilemma. What is right? What is wrong? And just what will you do to survive?

Hamburg 1943: Seventeen year old Anna Kolhmann falls in love with a young German soldier who thus leaves her with a parting gift before he is killed in action. Faced with a dilemma of whether to confide in her parents or not, Anna realises she can never tell them the truth - that she is pregnant and the father is dead. So she takes herself off to a maternity home where her baby will be given to the perfect family. She knows that this is best, that she could never give it all that it needs. But she doesn't expect to feel such overwhelming love for her beautiful baby boy or the devastation when he is snatched from her, never to be seen again. In her mind, she has named him Peter and it is there he will remain alive to her as he was in those first moments she glimpsed him.

In her grief, she returns to Hamburg with a plan. She has accepted a position as a secretary in a prison far away in the east. As she sets off, Anna feels as if a chapter has been closed and a new one is about to begin. What she didn't know was what she was stepping into...what kind of prison it was...and the part she would play.

London 2016: Ninety year old Anna stuffs another newspaper clipping into her case, her eyes brimming with tears and her hands trembling. She feels the time has come. They are coming for her, as they have all the others who remain. She puts on her coat, grabs her case and shuts the door to her terraced house and walks away. 

Lauren has lived next door to Anna, whom she knows as Margie, for twenty years and knows the elderly woman doesn't go out anywhere except to the corner store or the church. But when she sees Margie's milk still sitting on the doorstep at the end of the day, she begins to worry something has happened to her neighbour. It's not until her son Freddie returns home does she discover he has found her slumped at a bus stop with no idea what she is doing or where she is going. They can make no sense of what she is saying as she babbles away in a foreign language, possibly German. Together, Lauren and Freddie help Margie home and call the doctor for fear she may have developed some kind of dementia.

Freddie is just 13 years old and has been studying German at school so he has picked up a word or two Margie has uttered but it's not until their neighbour offers to enhance Freddie's grasp of the German language by holding conversation classes that they begin to wonder about Margie's background. Then one day Freddie comes home with the prospect of reading "some girl's diary of the war" (insert eye rolling from Freddie) which he couldn't be more bored with which Lauren makes more real for him by taking him to Amsterdam to see the house in which Anne Frank and her family had hidden. He returns with a postcard of Anne Frank which he gives to Margie as a thank you for helping him with his German that Lauren later finds torn in half in the bin. What is it that haunts Margie that distresses her so?

Then when Freddie comes home with an assignment on the war and its origins, he decides to question Margie on her own experiences, little realising the can of worms he is about to open and heartache that will be unleashed. But can the sins of the past ever be forgiven? 

THE WOMAN OUTSIDE THE WALLS reminds us that stories such as this must never be forgotten. The Holocaust and its atrocities must never be forgotten. We must never forget those crimes against humanity...we must remember them so that they will never happen again.

Anna is a strong and resilient young woman who had seen too much in her young life, having changed her name three times in three years before escaping with the British officer who saved her from poverty and took her home to England to live. But Anna never forgot...she was ashamed and consumed with a guilt that never ever left her. But her story is one that is shrouded in secrets and though I had guessed the part she played, it isn't completely revealed until near the end. 

This dual timeline tale is a little different in that it seemingly jumps around a little, but that is only because some aspects remain hidden until the relative part of the story unfolds. Anna is the predominant voice in this story, both in past and the present. We do hear from Lauren as well which lends something of a different perspective as an outsider looking in. Someone who has known their neighbour for twenty years and thus their shock at the truth when it is revealed.

However, I see Anna as a victim also. The people of Germany didn't want the war that was inflicted on them and yet they had to abide by certain laws anyway. Their lives were turned upside down and destroyed by their own people, let alone the Allies who were fighting them. THE WOMAN OUTSIDE THE WALLS is a thought-provoking tale as it is heartbreaking. There are questions that you would ask yourself should you find yourself in similar circumstances. At the end of the day, it is about survival. You do what you do to survive. And only then can you begin to reconcile the decisions you have made.

Overall, THE WOMAN OUTSIDE THE WALLS is an emotive tale about one woman's strength and resilience and ultimately her survival. Perfect for fans of wartime historical fiction.

I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWomanOutsideTheWalls in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

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EXTRACT: The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon by Suzanne Goldring

  

The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2

Read: 22nd February 2022

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Published: 25th February 2022

DESCRIPTION:

Florence, 1943. A missing painting. A war-scarred city. A brave young girl on a black bicycle risking her life for the country she loved…

As the bells toll and arrogant soldiers torment her family, fourteen-year-old Gabriella is determined to act. She seeks out her old friend Stefanina, an unlikely member of the Italian resistance with her dark curls and scarlet ribbon. Soon the two girls are criss-crossing the river with deadly information in their bicycle baskets. But then one terrible day Stefanina disappears…

London 2019.Sofia is mourning the loss of her father, a famous painter. Desperate to feel closer to him, she begins to go through his paintings of wartime Florence, a time in his life he would never talk about. But then she realises one is missing…

Determined to learn more, she discovers that he had a sister she never knew about. She flies to Florence, the place of his tortured memories, to meet her aunt Gabriella, an elegant old woman living in a palazzo filled with roses. Therein a little bedroom, locked away from the world, she finds the missing painting, a tiny picture of a beautiful girl with a scarlet ribbon.

As Sofia uncovers the story behind the hidden painting, a tale of extraordinary bravery and terrible betrayal emerges. But will understanding her family’s haunted past bring her peace, or further heartbreak?

A completely compelling and heartbreaking story of a beautiful city, a violent war and a young woman’s daring. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and My Name is Eva will be captivated by The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon.

EXTRACT:

PROLOGUE

FLORENCE

8 September 1943

Gabriella had tried moulding the potato dough into little dumplings the way her mother had shown her a hundred times. 

‘Lightly, girl, lightly,’ Mama had said. ‘Gnocchi need only the lightest touch.’

She rolled a long sausage shape on the floured marble counter, then pinched off lengths no bigger than the top of her thumb. But she still couldn’t get it right. The dough looked yellow and shiny, compared to her mother’s flour-dusted pillows, scored with a fork to capture the sauce. But if she didn’t make the gnocchi, what would they eat tonight? There was so little flour to be had these days that they couldn’t make pasta. But the basil was still growing well, so perhaps they could make pesto to add flavour to the bland but filling mouthfuls of fresh dough.

Even before the war started, supplies had become restricted. Everything was state property; everyone had their allocation. Gabriella grumbled to herself, but knew she was luckier than most. Since Grandmama died and her parents had moved from their house in Rome to live in their family’s high-ceilinged palazzo in Florence, she had eaten well. Somehow, Papa’s contacts were able to bring them fresh aubergines, peppers and onions from farms in the surrounding valleys.

Mama said they were better off in Florence and now the Germans were heading towards their previous home, she said she knew they had been right to leave. And Gabriella knew she wouldn’t starve here like the ragged urchins on the streets of Rome. But without flour there was no spaghetti, no tagliatelle or, her favourite, orecchiette, little ears of pasta that captured a spicy sauce of sausage, Parmesan and rocket in their hollows. Maybe if they were lucky enough to find more flour, Mama would teach her how to make pasta, the way she had been taught by Carla, the household’s cook before she left the palazzo for the relative safety of her family’s farm. And even if they didn’t have meat or spices to enliven the sauce, they could use peppers or broccoli.

‘Aren’t you finished yet?’ her mother called as she returned to the kitchen from the courtyard, in her arms a basket of ripe figs picked from the twisted tree that spread along one wall of the enclosed kitchen garden, ensuring all its purple fruit basked and ripened in the sun. Mama had to manage all the running of the house now, neglecting her art studio, where she had loved to paint and draw to the music of Puccini.

‘It’s so boring—’ Gabriella began to say, but was interrupted by a sudden shout from outside. Her twelve-year-old brother, Riccardo, face flushed, chestnut hair flopping over his forehead, limped at speed past the door, yelling. 

‘Come and see, Gaby!’ he shouted. ‘They’re coming. The Allies are coming!’

Gabriella jumped down from her stool, dusting her floury hands on her apron, and ran into the courtyard with its dry fountain, where the lamb was lying down in a shady corner, panting. Soon they would have to slaughter the beast. The garden could offer no more grass after the hot summer and fetching hay would bring suspicion. Who else had a prime source of meat fattening in their garden, who else might betray them for a joint of succulent lamb?

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

REVIEW: The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon

The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2

Read: 22nd February 2022

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Published: 25th February 2022

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Florence, 1943. A missing painting. A war-scarred city. A brave young girl on a black bicycle risking her life for the country she loved…

As the bells toll and arrogant soldiers torment her family, fourteen-year-old Gabriella is determined to act. She seeks out her old friend Stefanina, an unlikely member of the Italian resistance with her dark curls and scarlet ribbon. Soon the two girls are criss-crossing the river with deadly information in their bicycle baskets. But then one terrible day Stefanina disappears…

London 2019.Sofia is mourning the loss of her father, a famous painter. Desperate to feel closer to him, she begins to go through his paintings of wartime Florence, a time in his life he would never talk about. But then she realises one is missing…

Determined to learn more, she discovers that he had a sister she never knew about. She flies to Florence, the place of his tortured memories, to meet her aunt Gabriella, an elegant old woman living in a palazzo filled with roses. Therein a little bedroom, locked away from the world, she finds the missing painting, a tiny picture of a beautiful girl with a scarlet ribbon.

As Sofia uncovers the story behind the hidden painting, a tale of extraordinary bravery and terrible betrayal emerges. But will understanding her family’s haunted past bring her peace, or further heartbreak?

A completely compelling and heartbreaking story of a beautiful city, a violent war and a young woman’s daring. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and My Name is Eva will be captivated by The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon.

MY REVIEW:

I have been a fan of Suzanne Goldring since her smashing debut "My Name is Eva", which is still my favourite of hers by far. I'm always excited when she has a new book coming out as her ability to absorb the reader into her stories is unparalleled. However, I was disappointed with this latest offering as I just couldn't seem to engage with the unfolding plot...but that could just be me as I've never had any success engaging with Italian resistance WW2 tales. I don't know whether it is the language, although one would think the same with the German language, but I just couldn't connect. This is through no fault of Ms Goldring whose storytelling is always exceptional. I think in this case it is just personal taste.

THE GIRL WITH THE SCARLET RIBBON is a dual timeline tale set in Florence during German occupation in 1943 and London and Cornwall in 2019. The two timelines are are intricately connected through artist Riccardo who was a 12 year old boy recovering from polio during the war and the daughter Sofia and wife Isobel he leaves behind in 2019 after his death at the age of 87.

The 1943 timeline is mostly following Riccardo's older sister Gabriella, who finds adapting to her new school somewhat difficult and the subject of a couple of bullying sisters who think themselves above the others as their father, a Major, is high up with the Germans. Gabriella hates school and when she isn't there she must help her mother at home with cleaning their sprawling palazzo, cooking and laundering as well as learning to darn and mend clothes. Meanwhile Riccardo is schooled at home by their mother and at other times sits outside and draws. The siblings moved from their native Rome to Florence to find solace and protection during the war but just when they thought the Allies were coming, they instead had to find a new way of living under German occupation. Food became scarce as what little they grew the Germans claimed for themselves. 

And then one day Gabriella is reluctantly befriended by the bullying sisters, who are far from nice but they have food, of which Gabriella's family are in short supply. Then Gabriella develops a crush on someone connected to the sisters which thus leads to difficulties for everyone, particularly Riccardo who is trying to make sense of all that is going on around him. It is through his art that he finds release and a solace which brings him some comfort during such harsh times. 

And then tragedy strikes, affecting both Riccardo and Gabriella, who has made a horrible mistake with disastrous consequences...costing their family everything. And for which she carries the guilt for the rest of her life.

In 2019, Sofia is organising an exhibition of her late father's artwork whilst trying to make some sense of it. For Riccardo didn't give any of his paintings a title - just a number - and the things which he depicted in his work leave Sofia somewhat puzzled as to their meaning and the inspiration behind them. Her father never talked about his past so Sofia has no idea what any of his paintings mean. And whilst setting up the exhibition is shocked to discover one is missing. Number sixteen. They may not have titles, but Sofia can tell identify each painting just by their numerical reference. Numbers fifteen, seventeen and even twenty five are all there in her mind but at a number sixteen she draws only a blank. Did her father destroy the painting? Or was it locked away somewhere holding a secret that didn't bear revelation? Sofia travels to Cornwall where her mother now lives to convince her to return to London with her and hopefully help shed some light on Riccardo's inspiration and maybe even the mysterious missing number sixteen.

What Sofia and Isobel aren't expecting is that Riccardo left them a surprise - tickets and detailed instructions in a letter to return to his old home in Florence to see his aging sister Gabriella. Jumping at the chance to solve the mysteries behind her father's past, Sofia encourages her mother to make the trip with her believing that this journey holds the answers for which she seeks. But what unfolds is the heartbreaking truth, tragic revelations and a path to find closure and healing. Together they uncover the mystery behind the man they knew as their father and husband, Riccardo, and the complexities of his tortured mind, as well as the mysterious stories behind his many paintings. But can they find the elusive number sixteen?

THE GIRL WITH THE SCARLET RIBBON is a moving tale that is both emotional and heartbreaking about a difficult time buried deep in a dark history. The suffering and the painful picture painted can only serve to remind us of a time long forgotten to many. Suzanne Goldring's remarkable storytelling is reflected in the vivid descriptions highlighting a kindness through suffering.

Overall, an okay read although others may feel better connected to the story than I did, THE GIRL WITH THE SCARLET RIBBON whilst not my favourite of this author's tales but a compelling one all the same.

I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlWithTheScarletRibbon in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

EXTRACT: The Shut Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring

 

The Shut Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, Dual timeline, WW1

Read: 23rd June 2021

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Published: 29th June 2021

DESCRIPTION:

Two ordinary sisters. A long and brutal war. A heroic sacrifice…

London, 1915. As German bombs rain down on the East End of London and hungry children queue for rations in the blistering cold, fifteen-year-old Florrie is forced to grow up fast. With her father fighting in the muddy trenches, Florrie turns to her older sister Edith for comfort. But the war has changed Edith. She has grown quiet, with dark shadows under her eyes, and has started leaving the house at night in secret. When Florrie follows her sister through the dark and winding streets of London, she is shocked by what she discovers. But she knows she must keep her sister’s secret for the sake of their family, even if she herself must pay the ultimate price…

Years later Kate, running from her broken relationship, is sorting through her dead aunt Florrie’s house, which she shared with her sister Edith. As she sits on the threadbare carpets, looking at photos of Florrie during the war, she notices the change in her aunt – from carefree young girl with a hopeful smile to a hollow-cheeked young woman, with dark sad eyes.

Determined to put her family’s ghosts to rest, Kate must unearth the secret past of her two aunts. Why is there a hidden locked room in the little house they shared? What is the story behind the abandoned wedding dress wrapped in tissue and tied up with a ribbon? And when Kate discovers the tragic secrets that have bound her family together, will she ever be able to move on?

A heartbreaking historical novel of war, tragedy and the sacrifices we make for those we love. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Victoria Hislop will be hooked by The Shut-Away Sisters.

EXTRACT:

November 1999

Kate traced her fingertip through the film of dust that powdered the contents of the locked room. Everything, the bookcase, the desk, the row of books supported by onyx bookends, all was dusted in sleep. And the cover of the maroon book squarely centred on the blotter on the desk was faded, even though very little sunlight filtered through the window, almost completely shrouded as it was by Virginia creeper. 

She opened the book, letting the pages fall open. Dates at the top of each page made it clear that this was a diary. The ink was still crisp and clear, curling and looping in handwriting formed by strict schooldays. She could see the stern schoolmistress, rows of desks, pens dipping into inkwells, tracing the script on straight lines. And the books standing neatly side by side before the window were also diaries. They were inviting her to read them, to discover why they had not been destroyed by their author, but had been locked in a room without a key for many years. 

She flicked through the pages, then read, I fear for Edith’s wellbeing, but feel I must act with the utmost discretion for fear of drawing unwanted attention to her fragile state of mind. 

Kate shivered. Perhaps she shouldn’t read any further. It felt like prying, reading a diary written by someone she knew, or at least thought she knew. But because Great-aunt Florrie was no longer here and because the events covered in these pages had happened so long ago, it seemed as if she’d been granted leave to read, to understand and maybe even begin to make amends. 

And as she looked at the tired, faded journal in her hands and turned the closely written pages, she told herself that she should not be afraid to read its story. This time she could not be hurt and shocked. This time there would be no pain. This time she could just look on and observe. 

But as she started to read, she felt the ache once more. Twisting, churning agony deep inside her, reminding her how she felt the day she discovered what David was really like, the day she uncovered the truth.  

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

REVIEW: The Shut Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring

The Shut Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, Dual timeline, WW1

Read: 23rd June 2021

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Published: 29th June 2021

★★★ 2.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

Two ordinary sisters. A long and brutal war. A heroic sacrifice…

London, 1915. As German bombs rain down on the East End of London and hungry children queue for rations in the blistering cold, fifteen-year-old Florrie is forced to grow up fast. With her father fighting in the muddy trenches, Florrie turns to her older sister Edith for comfort. But the war has changed Edith. She has grown quiet, with dark shadows under her eyes, and has started leaving the house at night in secret. When Florrie follows her sister through the dark and winding streets of London, she is shocked by what she discovers. But she knows she must keep her sister’s secret for the sake of their family, even if she herself must pay the ultimate price…

Years later Kate, running from her broken relationship, is sorting through her dead aunt Florrie’s house, which she shared with her sister Edith. As she sits on the threadbare carpets, looking at photos of Florrie during the war, she notices the change in her aunt – from carefree young girl with a hopeful smile to a hollow-cheeked young woman, with dark sad eyes.

Determined to put her family’s ghosts to rest, Kate must unearth the secret past of her two aunts. Why is there a hidden locked room in the little house they shared? What is the story behind the abandoned wedding dress wrapped in tissue and tied up with a ribbon? And when Kate discovers the tragic secrets that have bound her family together, will she ever be able to move on?

A heartbreaking historical novel of war, tragedy and the sacrifices we make for those we love. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Victoria Hislop will be hooked by The Shut-Away Sisters.

MY REVIEW:

I've been am eager fan of Suzanne Goldring ever since her historical dual timeline debut "My Name is Eva", which absolutely loved, and was excited to delve into yet another of her heartbreaking historical reads. But sadly I found this one failed to live up to her other preceding three. At first I thought it was just a slow build up with a promise of things to come but it never actually got there.

1999: Thirty-something Kate is shocked to discover her partner of five years is having an affair so packs herself up and makes the journey to Dorset to stay with her parents. Whilst there, her father tells her that her Great-Aunt Florrie is in hospital and unlikely to return home to her large sprawling Victorian house on the outskirts of London. He suggests that Kate move into Florrie's house while she takes stock of her life and sorts herself out and then when the time comes, to help her father by sorting through things. 

Kate has vague memories of visiting her Great-Aunt there as a child but also remembers that both Florrie and her older sister Edith kept pretty much to themselves. In fact, she can't even recall a time she heard Edith speak. And Kate returns to the house and begins the process of creating an inventory of items before her brothers' horrid wives descend on the place like vultures picking at their prey. Soon after moving in, she visited Florrie in the hospital and appalled at the conditions and care she received there, made the necessary enquiries to relocate her to a comfortable nursing home. However, Florrie was only there a couple of days before she passed away and Kate berated herself for not being with her at the time.

Over time, she meets the neighbours - Marjorie, Peter, Tom and his wife, the widowed Dorothy and even the owners of the corner shop "All Hours" - who all remember Florrie fondly. It becomes clear that the residents of Coventry Road are a close-knit community that keep themselves to themselves but also look out for one another. But no one seems to remember much about Edith, who was too all intents and purposes, reclusive and only ventured out once a week for church at the end of the street.

It isn't long before Kate finds her demanding job as a public relations consultant is emotionally and physically draining and instead she finds solace in the peacefulness of Florrie's house. She meets antiques appraiser and dealer Nick at the church fete one day where she took an ugly looking vase along for appraisal. She was surprised to discover its value and wondered what else may lurk in the house of similar worth and although they continued to meet regularly, she never asked him to appraise anything else. 

And yet, she found herself becoming restless in her work and her life. Is this all that there is? Is this all her life is going to be? She thought she was on the cusp of marriage and children with David but look how that turned out. Could she, should she dare to hope for more?

1915: The country is at war and families are trying to hold it through rationing, loss of loved ones and terrible hardship. Florrie Henderson is faced with one tragedy after another as she relinquishes her own chances at happiness for her sister. We first meet Florrie when she is 13 years old and helping her mother run their household whilst her 18 year old sister Edith shuts herself away in her room upstairs writing poems and letters to her sweetheart Frank who left to fight the year before. Every day Edith listens for the postman for letters from Frank and is dismayed when there are none but delighted on the days there are. Either way, she shuts herself in her room to reflect and to write...something which Florrie can see no use in. Her father is also sent away to fight some years later and soon returns home at the end of the war but not without scars. Her younger brother Georgie was too young to fight but instead learnt his father's trade so he could one day take over the business.

When their father returned home, Edith was beside herself asking him if he had seen Frank. Where was Frank? Was he on his way home too? But their father hadn't seen him, saying that there were thousands of men out there. As the days and weeks turned into months and still there was no news of Frank, Edith still shut herself away writing. 

Florrie was 16 when the war ended and with it came the Spanish flu. When their mother collapsed and took ill, it was left to Florrie to keep the house and cook for them all, ensuring their father and Georgie were well fed while Edith only picked at her food...if she ever came down for meals at all. And then Florrie awoke one day after two weeks of sickness in which their father had to care for them all, and he was not well himself, what with the scars of the war he now carried from the mustard gas the Germans used. But now as she recovered from the Spanish flu, Florrie knew the responsibilities now sit on her shoulders as their mother had succumbed to it whilst Florrie was ill. All the while, Edith continued to believe that Frank was coming home to her and did little else but shut herself away and write day after day. 

One day, when walking in the park with their brother Georgie, Edith spots some soldiers and boys gathered together and she smiles coyly at them. Soon after, she began to disappear every week and then almost every day, rain or shine, returning hours later and locking herself away once again. When Florrie confronted her about her daily jaunts, Edith gushed her relief at being able to confide in her that Frank had returned and she had been meeting him. Florrie thought this unlikely but accepted her sister's story. It had become clear that Edith was so deranged with grief she was convinced Frank had returned to her. 

But what she didn't know was that Edith had a secret. A secret that could ruin her. And it is one that, once she discovered it, she would keep forever...to protect Edith. Even if it meant forgoing her own happiness.

Many years later, as Kate rifles through Florrie and Edith's possessions she comes across a locked door to which there is no key. Well, not one she has found anyway. What lies behind that door? What secrets does it hold? And will it reveal why the sisters never married?

THE SHUT AWAY SISTERS is told in dual perspectives of Florrie in the years 1915 through to 1924 and Kate in 1999 and this is generally my preferred style of book for historical fiction. But it felt as if I were reading two different books. I felt no connection between Florrie and Kate, despite their relationship to each other, nor any between the two differing eras. I kept waiting for something to happen to weave the stories together but nothing came. Although there is a link between the stories, it is threadbare and barely there at all. This saddened me greatly as I so love Suzanne's books but for me this one missed the mark.

Florrie's narrative is told in the form of a diary though no diary had really been uncovered or read to connect the two stories. Kate did come across one diary but shut it quickly believing it to be private so therefore didn't think of it again. It would have connected the two stories better had she began reading her Great-Aunt's diaries as Florrie's story unfolded in the alternating chapters from then on. But then I was confused as to the second lot of diaries which were discovered toward the end and she spent the time pouring over them and the secrets it held. But by then it was too late to connect the stories. And I though Florrie's diaries were sitting on a shelf in the sitting room downstairs...so what were these diaries? It was never really made clear although it alluded to them being Florrie's. All Edith seemed to write was poetry...and letters to Frank. I found that a little confusing.

The characters were hard to connect with and I couldn't bring myself to like Edith as much as tried to sympathise with her. She came across as selfish and thoughtless, did nothing to help at a time the family needed to pull together. Florrie was younger than her and was keeping things together whilst Edith ran off to "meet Frank" or shut herself in her room. If she was questioned, she would say "I'm busy writing" as if that were an excuse for everything. I'm not sure I liked Kate much either. I honestly couldn't decide.

This book had so much potential and I honestly struggled to finish it. I love Suzanne's dual timeline historical tales but I was sadly disappointed in this one. It could have been so much more. Still...I eagerly await her next historical read which I'm sure will be as equally heartbreaking and heartwarming as her previous tales.

I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheShutAwaySisters in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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REVIEW: The Girl Without a Name by Suzanne Goldring

 

The Girl Without a Name by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, WW2

Read: 4th November 2020

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Published: 5th November 2020

★★★★★ 5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

September 1940. As the bombs of the Blitz fall on London, Ruby and Stevie are falling in love. United by a shocking experience when they were evacuees, Ruby believes that she understands Stevie like nobody else can. But then Stevie is sent abroad into danger and as Ruby waits, desperately, for letters with foreign stamps that never come, she begins to fear that he is lost forever.

August 2004. Billie has rushed to her father Dick’s hospital bedside. A terrible stroke has robbed him of his speech, and he is a shell of the man he was before. But when Billie finds a crumpled black and white photo in his wallet of a smiling, dark-haired girl she doesn’t recognise, Dick frantically tries to talk. Billie knows that he is trying to tell her something important, and she must ask the questions her father cannot. All she has to go on is the name he is just able to mumble. Ruby.

Billie tracks down Ruby’s aunt, her only surviving relative, and learns that Ruby’s life contained great love, but also great tragedy. Billie is determined to find out what happened to this brave woman, last seen leaving her home for a secret weekend away. Why did nobody miss her? And how is she connected to Billie’s beloved father? Can Billie lay the ghosts of the past to rest, even if it means revealing the darkest secrets of her father’s life and breaking her own heart?

A completely compelling and heartbreaking read, this is the story of the courage of a young woman in wartime and another woman’s quest to right the injustices of history. Fans of The Letter and The Nightingale will be hooked on The Girl Without a Name.  

MY REVIEW:

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Suzanne Goldring's latest heartbreaking historical novel THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME.

"She left home, with the man she loved, and was never seen again..."

Wow! Where do I even begin? Suzanne Goldring never fails to disappoint. As with all her books, I was captivated from the very first page right up until the very last...and even then the story will remain with me. THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME has a little of everything - history, romance, mystery, tragedy, love, loss - all woven together by the deft hand of its author. And it is hard not to be touched by Ruby's story.

August 2004: Seventy-seven year old Dick Stevens sits down with his lunch when the news flashes on the TV. A devastating flood has hit the West Country not seen since 1952 and Dick is transfixed to the images on the screen as he is suddenly drawn back into the past. He points to the screen and cries "Ruby!" before an excruciating pain in his head renders him limp and lifeless, his eyes still seeing the horrifying images before him - both past and present. This is how his eldest daughter Billie finds him, slumped in his chair, the images still playing out on the screen. He points to them but all he manages are the unintelligible sounds "Roo...eey".

Whilst her father recuperates from his stroke in the care home, Billie discovers some old black and white photographs...one of which was of a young woman secreted in the back of his wallet. She doesn't recognise her and her father is unable to speak clearly enough to identify her, but it is not her mother. The photographs, some of which she has seen before but knows nothing of the story behind them, are from a time before her parents met. Some when her father was a child and some from his time in the National Service, something he never speaks of.

When Billie shows her father's sister, Joan, the photos she is able to determine one of them as a school photo taken just after they were evacuated to Devon during the early part of the war. The young woman in the other photo from her father's wallet Joan identifies as Ruby Morrison, a young girl she was billeted with in Devon and whom her father (known as Stevie) had befriended. She estimated that Ruby was about 16 in the photo which would have been around the time Stevie served in Palestine with the National Service. But why did her father still carry a photo of a girl he used to know? Had she been a girlfriend? And where was she now? 

Billie knows nothing of her father's early life and with these photos in hand, she decides to try and uncover the mystery.

Devon 1939: The beginning of World War II saw children evacuated to the country to protect them from the impending onslaught of German bombs and ten year old Ruby Morrison was amongst those being relocated. Disappointed that her two best friends Grace and Joyce were not joining her, she found herself clinging to a friendly older girl who took her under her wing. Upon reaching Devon, families from far and wide came to view the children and choose the ones they wanted but still Ruby clung to her new friend Joan who assured her they would be billeted together. Joan's younger brother Stevie was picked off by a grumpy looking farmer's wife with another strapping young lad and they rode off together on the back of the farm truck, excited by their new adventure. But Ruby remained by Joan's side and the two girls were taken in by the kindly Mrs Honey.

Life in Devon was in complete contrast to that which Ruby had known in London. Here they had the vast countryside, fresh air and green hills as far as the eye could see. Mrs Honey even kept chickens that kept them in ample supply of eggs which were otherwise rationed and replaced by the powdered kind. Despite rationing, food was fresh and not in as short supply as it was in London and Ruby grew used to the fresh vegetables they had daily in stews and soup Mrs Honey cooked up. So when her mother came down to Devon for Christmas and suggested she return home as there had been no bombs, Ruby feared that she would have to leave her new home behind. But Ruby didn't want to return to London. 

But sadly the following year, Ruby's mother was killed in the Blitz and her aunt Ida came down to Devon to collect her and took her back to London without even saying goodbye to Joan. Her aunt Ida and uncle Reg ran a pub called the Victoria and Albert so there were none of the home comforts she had known in Devon living above the pub. Before long, Ruby becomes an unpaid skivvy to her aunt as she is expected to wash and dry glasses and sweep the sticky floors on a daily basis. However, things seemed brighter when she runs into Stevie, whom she'd met in Devon, and together they would sneak off to the pictures on the afternoons her aunt thought she was at the library. And what began as friendship soon turns to love.

When Stevie joins the National Service at the end of the war and is sent abroad to Palestine, Ruby writes to him constantly and his replies are filled with anecdotes and love. But then his letters begin to dwindle and he no longer signs them with "all my love" or "your Stevie". Then Ruby discovers he has returned and never came to see her, but nothing would prepare her for what she was about to witness. Her Stevie, her one true love, the one she was saving herself for...broke her heart. Ruby walked out and never saw him again for some five years. 

And when she did, it was like the flame had never gone out. Her Stevie was back. But was he really? Was he the same man that had left her for Palestine five years ago? The same boy she met in Devon? The same boy who had promised to build her a doll house? But Ruby believes that only she understands Stevie like nobody else can.

And all she wanted was the boy who promised to build her a dollhouse. But war changes people.

Alternating between the past and the present, THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME is a heartwrenching story of Ruby's coming of age through wartime Britain, her first love and all the emotions and experiences that come with it. But it is also Billie's journey for the truth in her desperate need to uncover the secrets her father has kept buried for over 50 years. When she comes across some old newspaper clippings her father has kept in a box at the back of her wardrobe detailing a devastating flood in Devon in 1952, she begins to wonder if the more recent flood has brought up memories of her father's past.

Contrary to its title, THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME is kind of a misnomer because you only discover the reason behind the title towards the end of the book. It isn't the main story as such but it is an important link.

I never tire of Suzanne Goldring's beautifully told historical novels and I thought it would be tough to top her debut "My Name is Eva" which was beyond brilliant, but I have to say that THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME comes pretty damn close.

As well as being a well written and beautiful historical tale, the book also illustrates what was then known as "shell shock" or "battle fatigue" but what we now call PTSD. Men didn't talk about their experiences or their emotions that went with them, and instead they turned to alcohol, women or violence. This was illustrated early on in the book with the farmer who violently abused Stevie, scarring him both physically and emotionally. The farmer had suffered in the Great War and as a result became an angry violent brute. Stevie's experience with "battle fatigue" was different, but it was brutal all the same.

Suzanne Goldring's writing style is easy to read and all of her characters are well developed. It is so easy to get swept up into the story and lose yourself completely within the pages. I laughed, I cried and I cheered along with the characters. I even wanted to smack a couple. 

The two timelines are woven together seamlessly bringing the reader to a surprising and thought-provoking ending which I did not see coming. THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME is captivating, compelling and heartbreaking at times but on the whole is a heartwarming read that will be sure to evoke emotion.

Absolutely brilliant read, I thoroughly recommend THE GIRL WITHOUT A NAME to fans of historical wartime fiction.

I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlWithoutAName in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Whether she is working in her thatched cottage in Hampshire or her seaside home in North Cornwall, Suzanne finds inspiration in the secrets hidden by everyday life.  

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

REVIEW: Burning Island by Suzanne Goldring (ARC)

Burning Island by Suzanne Goldring

Genre: Historical fiction, contemporary fiction, women's fiction, Dual timeline

Read: 28th March 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 22nd January 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

I always knew that Suzanne Goldring would have difficulty topping the brilliance of her first book "My Name is Eva" and any others would just be a shadow of that one. BURNING ISLAND is her second and, whilst I did end up enjoying it, the story wasn't nearly as compelling as her previous offering.

1944: Isaac and Perla Nikorkiris, along with their daughter Rebekka, live a quiet life in the Jewish quarter of Corfu Town. However, for the past few years they have kept the existence of their two youngest daughters secret and not registered their births, keeping them hidden in an effort to keep them safe. Now they have a difficult choice to make. The Germans are making noises around town that the Jewish residents will soon be leaving the island and Isaac and Perla have a plan in place for the youngest girls to be taken to a safe place to be be kept hidden. A middle-aged childless couple, Agata and Georgiou, are willing to put themselves in danger to look after the girls and keep them safe until the war is over.

The following morning, five year old Matilde and two year old Anna awake confused with no idea where they are or where their parents and Rebekka are. Agata explains that they have been sent to live with them while their parents and Rebekka go to work for the Germans, and that after the war they will return and be reunited with them. The girls are malnourished and have a sickly pallor from never having been outside for fear of discovery by the Germans. Agata endeavours to fatten them up with good clean air, sunshine and plenty of wholesome food from their land.

The coastal cottage where the girls now live with Agata and Georgiou is far from town and prying eyes. They will not be discovered there...but should any stranger happen by, Agata shows the girls a very special hiding place where no one will ever discover them, making an adventure out of it. But they still miss their parents and Rebekka and sometimes cry at night for them. Agata comforts the girls as she would her own, singing them to sleep or telling them stories. Within days it is clear the girls are happy, playing outside in the fresh air and sunshine and soon begin to look healthier.

While their little haven remains secret Agata knows it is only a matter of time before their little cottage is discovered, as Germans continue to scour the island for Jews who may have slipped through their net. Then when a stranger appears on their beach one having been swimming, the couple are spooked and decide to relocate the girls to an even more remote area...high in the mountains.

2006: Amber and her husband have left their old lives behind in cold and miserable London for the warmer climes of Corfu, filled with hopes and dreams of starting their own business. They stay with friends while searching for the perfect location and meeting some interesting characters along the way who assist in making their dreams a reality. When they come across the perfect mountain hideaway that will be their home, plans are soon put in motion to restore the existing building and extending it into a restaurant and a bed and breakfast.

During the building phase, James spends more time with the two men who have helped make this dream possible - Greg and Dimitri. Without their invaluable knowledge and assistance, Mountain Thyme would never have come to fruition. But James keeps their discussions secret from Amber, without confiding in her the extent of Greg and Dimitri's involvement.

When Amber falls pregnant, James is anything but pleased. This moment that is to be savoured and enjoyed is dampened by his relentless need to build his reputation and put Mountain Thyme on the map as a sought after place. He is furthered bothered by the fact that the baby is due around the beginning of August, at the height of their summer season, which will further inconvenience him. I could have honestly slapped him for his lack of feeling and sensitivity! Of course, Amber's pregnancy made her excessively hot, particularly when summer arrived, prompting him to sleep in one of the spare rooms if there wasn't a guest booked in. Failing that, he then began to spend the nights at Greg's place, leaving Amber alone in their remote mountain view home.

Whilst James explores business opportunities with Greg and Dimitri, Amber befriends two women - Marian and Inge - who run a couple of quaint shops on the island specialising in rustic items from furniture to pottery, with which they intend to furnish their new home and business. During her visits with the women, Amber learns how Inge came to own the shop and the story behind the couple who bequeathed it to her when they passed.

As Amber listened to the stories Inge related to her, she finds herself drawn to the stories of decades ago when the couple helped hide two little girls from the Germans during World War 2, and those of the Jewish people living in Corfu during the war. Inge's passion for the forgotten Jewish people of the island is reflected in her desire to educate tourists about them at the gate of the Old Fort, where the thousands of Corfiot Jews were gathered in the days before they were shipped off the island in barges...in the foolish belief they were going to work for the Germans. Instead their 27 day journey to Auschwitz was long and without food or water bringing death to most and those who did survive were merely destined for the gas chamber.

Told over dual timelines, BURNING ISLAND is a captivating read although the 1944 time period was far more absorbing and I would have liked that story to have featured more prominently. As it was, it was Amber and James' story that was main storyline and in parts was a little too repetitive. I wasn't particularly interested in the life and times of Amber and James as they built their dream only to end up at each other's throats. It wasn't until about halfway through when Amber finally hears the stories of the Corfiot Jews and the of Matilde and Anna, and the threads begin to pull together. The plight of the Jews and the inhumane journey to Auschwitz was both fascinating and heartbreaking that just pulled at your heartstrings. The final chapter for 1944 had me shedding bucket loads. And yet the final chapter of Amber and James' story was somewhat anti-climatic.

I said at the beginning that I didn't find BURNING ISLAND as compelling as "My Name is Eva". This is true. Although both books are completely different, I guess I was expecting something just as breathtaking and as brilliant as the author's previous offering.

I think my biggest issue with this book was that it was promoted as historical fiction about the fate of two little girls in Corfu in 1944 when in actual fact the primary story was that of James and Amber in 2006. I felt kind of ripped off that it wasn't as much a historical read as I had hoped but more of a contemporary one with threads of the historical story woven throughout.

Another issue I had was at the height of the season that James was so bothered with being inconvenienced with the birth of their baby, when it came down to it, there were no guests in their bed and breakfast at that time and Amber was left alone on the burning mountainside about to give birth! Wasn't his gripe being that it was at the height of the tourist season? And yet there were no tourists booked in! It didn't make sense that their bed and breakfast was completely empty at the end of July when it would normally be at its busiest.

Another gripe was the dates were all wrong. The premise had the story taking place in 1943 and 2016. The historical date could be forgiven with being just a year out but the later storyline was nowhere near 2016, but rather 2006 through to 2009. Little things like that make me wonder if those who wrote the premise or even the reviews had actually read the book, as they all pretty much quote those same dates.

But...having said that, BURNING ISLAND is a moving story underneath, which is both poignant and heartbreaking. I just wish Matilde and Anna, and the plight of the Jews had been a more prominent storyline and not a secondary plot. The Historical Note at the end was incredibly emotional and had me shedding even more tears.

Overall, I do love Suzanne Goldring's writing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

I would like to thank #SuzanneGoldring, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #BurningIsland in exchange for an honest review.