Read December 2019.
The Cotswolds, 1946: A young widow returns home to help out at her uncle and aunt's publishing business, and try to get over the tragic loss of her Naval Officer husband after their whirlwind marriage.
Lucy, known as Mrs P, is looking for a new start among the familiar surroundings she grew up in, but things are not quite as she remembers back at Kershaw and Kathay Press. During her time away, her uncle has hired a pleasant, but shy new editor, called Robert Underhill, who is trying to get over his own traumatic experiences as a prisoner of war.
Try as she might, Lucy seems unable to fathom Mr Underhill and the reason for his frequent absences, but when he asks her to help him with one of the books they are publishing, they begin to understand each other better over the mystery of a missing girl from the past. Both are unwilling to take risks after the grief they have suffered, but they could in fact, be the answer that each of them is looking for, if only they can get over the shadows that haunt them.
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Mrs P's Book Of Secrets is a gentle, but deeply emotional story, set against the back-drop of a country trying to recover from the aftermath of the Second World War.
Lucy is trying to find a way to settle into the old life that she knew before her brief marriage. She loved her husband, but realises that they did not really know each other, and she is not sure how to grieve for him.
Robert is searching for a cause to cling to in order to help him get over his war time memories and thinks that working quietly to save Kershaw and Kathay Press is the life-buoy he needs - especially since Lucy's aunt and uncle have welcomed him so warmly.
Both of them are tired of the way others misunderstand their intentions and find it necessary to tread on eggshells around them all the time. Neither of them is expecting to connect with another person and although they are drawn to each other, their awkwardness keeps them from recognising that there are feelings developing between them until quite some way into the story. There is a delicious air of suspense over their burgeoning romance that is quite enchanting.
A strong theme of the supernatural also runs through this novel. Ghosts from the past have a significant part to play in the direction of the story, and Lucy certainly seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to the echoes of voices from the past. You are never quite sure whether there are real spectres or not, but the possibility remains intriguingly close to the surface, and if they are real then these spirits clearly have good intentions.
There is also a thread here that I found really interesting. Women have had to step up during the war years and take on roles which have traditionally been undertaken by men, which has given them a new found sense of independence. The men returning home are expecting to fall back into the jobs they left behind, but when they do so, what then happens to the women? I have not previously thought about the conflict that must have existed in these women's minds - yes, they are being made to return to their kitchens, even though they know they can do so much more, and yet there is also a need to welcome home their men folk and ensure that they are able to find jobs, especially if they are struggling with falling back into civilian life. How difficult this must have been.
Mrs P's Book Of Secrets is a charming tale. This is not a story that goes full tilt, jumping from action scene to action scene. but there is a developing love affair between two characters you know belong together, a gradual build of suspense, and a mystery to solve against a well-drawn backdrop, that keeps you turning the pages until the heartwarming end - and I had a few tears to shed when Lucy finally deciphered Robert's message to her. What a lovely book!
Mrs P's Book Of Secrets is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer.
You can find it on Amazon here.
Thank you to Lorna Gray for providing me with a copy of this book, in return for an honest review.
From the book cover:
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.
‘If you’re a lover of literary fiction then you’ll be right at home with this book. You’ll enjoy the intricate play on words and it will take you back to a time when writing was an art form’ Netgalley reviewer
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 Underhills’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…
About 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.
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