Lissa Evans

It's 1940. The blitz in London is at its noisiest and most destructive. But morale-boosting films must go on being made. So we meet a cast of characters who keep us entertained for 400 pages. A has-been actor who doesn't realise his glory-days are over, a sheltered-but-looking-for-life spinster in her 30s, a military adviser who's led a more than sheltered life, a young script writer from the Welsh valleys and her dyspeptic and wryly witty boss. Oh, and a simply awful dog. The action is pacy, the dialogue well-pitched and believable. Best of all though is this book's ability to transport us to war-ravaged London: its smells and sounds and all-pervading shabbiness and dust and gritty dirt.

The blurb's misleading. Young Welsh Catrin is no more centre-stage than Ambrose the actor or Edith the spinster or any of the other main characters. That's fine. We become interested and involved in the lives of each of them. I even felt sorry for Ambrose when that ghastly dog..... oooh, no sorry, spoiler alert.… (mais)

A witty and engaging war time yarn. I gather this is a follow up to an earlier book, but that fact I hadn't read it - or even heard of it - didn't matter at all, as the characters were fully fleshed out. There are two strands to this story. One follows Winnie, ARP warden, who's plump, sensible, with a husband who's away fighting the war, and a glamorous twin sister who is neither plump nor sensible. The other follows Vee, who keeps herself solvent by running a boarding house whilst also raising her 15 year old orphaned nephew, that it turns out is not her nephew. It's not really any kind of spoiler alert to reveal that these two strands do eventually come together. I did have a little difficulty at first in keeping these two strands of the story apart - Winnie? Vee? I was easily confused. This is a book that brings the sheer boredom, drudgery and beigeness of the last year of the war to life: a period when it looked as though the war MIGHT end, but with no real signs in everyday life of its doing so - especially as bombs continued to do their worst in London. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters - apart from Winnie and Vee, Vee's 15 year old 'nephew' Noel is the other main protagonist, but there are others with engaging bit parts, such as the twin sister Ruth, an American GI Mario, and the various boarding house inhabitants. An easily read and involving novel.… (mais)

This is the third in the Noel Bostock series. I've read the two previous books, but it has been such a long time since I read them, this could certainly be read as a stand - alone novel. It's a heartwarming and engaging tale. The story takes place in 1944 London during the Blitz. Noel's " aunt" Vee is getting making do by running a lodging home known as Green Shutters. A group on interesting characters lodge there, and in exchange for tutoring Noel part- time , they pay a slightly reduced fee. Mr Jepsen works as a reporter for the North London Press, and teaches 14 year old Noel Latin, Dr. Parry-Jones tutors in Science, Mr Reddish teaches Math, and Mrs Appleby mixes her French tutoring in with more personal lessons about the heart. ARP Winnie Crowther is a senior Warden at Warden Post 9, where she and her colleagues deal with the aftermath of the bombings. All of these memorable people combine to create a fascinating story.

4. 5 stars… (mais)