73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan

 

73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan.

Published 20th July 2023 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it's clear she's hiding a terrible secret.

And she's not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own . . .

Tommie, who lives on the second floor, waits on the eccentric Mrs Vee by day. After dark, she harbours an addiction to seedy Soho nightlife - and a man she can't quit.

Phyllis, 73 Dove Street's formidable landlady, has set fire to her husband's belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal - yet her fierce bravado hides a past she doesn't want to talk about.

At first, the three women keep to themselves.

But as Edie's past catches up with her, Tommie becomes caught in her web of lies - forcing her to make a decision that will change everything . . .

***********

London, 1958. In grey post-war London, Edie arrives at the door of a shabby boarding house with nothing but a few belongings in her broken cardboard suitcase, and a big secret she must keep hidden. She hopes that 73 Dove Street will provided a refuge from the actions her abusive husband has driven her to, until she can decide how to move forward.

On the second floor lives Tommie. Caught in a destructive cycle, she works for an eccentric old woman during the day, and spends her nights in seedy Soho chasing a man who can never give her the solace she craves. She does not know quite what to make of Edie, who is hiding away on the third floor in the tiny attic room that used to be her own.

73 Dove Street's landlady, Phyllis, is going through troubles of her own. Having thrown her unfaithful husband out on the street, she is suddenly forced to confront the grief that has been hiding for so long. 

As Edie's past catches up with her, she and Tommie forge a friendship that offers the chance for both of them to make a new future, but there are hard decisions to be made.

73 Dove Street is the follow up to Owen Moylan's splendid debut That Green Eyed Girl, and in it she turns her attention to three women whose lives have taken a tragic turn, in 1950s London. The story plays out in 1958 for the three women, and with flashbacks to the history of Edie's relationship with her controlling husband, delving deep into the heartbreak that has shaped them, and cutting you to the bone with the sorrow, misplaced guilt, and regrets that consume them. 

Owen Moylan brings 1950s London alive with all its complicated contradictions, and weaves the impact of the legacy of WWII into the stories of Edie, Tommie and Phyllis to heartrending effect, and she paints a disturbingly accurate picture of the lives they are forced to lead. I do not want to go into their stories in any detail, as Owen Moylan tells their tales much better that I can, but much in these pages made me terribly sad and angry, as she holds nothing back in examining themes of trauma, PTSD, aching grief, alienation, and domestic abuse. However, thankfully, there is also some healing and hope to give you something to cling to at the end of the story.

I love Owen Moylan's writing. She has such a way of speaking up for the her female characters to show exactly how time and place affects their hopes and dreams, and here she does this in story that combines elements of mystery, loss of innocence, and domestic suspense that keep you turning the pages from beginning to end - all while and making you reflect on how much women's lives have changed... or not. This book worked its way right under my skin, and it will stay with me for a long time. I shed tears for Edie, Tommie and Phyllis in their turn, and so will you.

73 Dove Street is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Michael Joseph for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Julie Owen Moylan was born in Cardiff and has worked in a variety of jobs, from trainee hairdresser and chip shop attendant at sixteen to business management consultant and college lecturer in her thirties.

She then returned to education to complete her Master's degree in Film before going on to complete a further Master's degree in Creative Writing. Julie is an alumna of the Faber Academy's Writing a Novel course. She lives in Cardiff with her husband.