Blog Tour ~ Always In My Heart by Pam Weaver

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop on the 


Always In My Heart Blog Tour

Pan Macmillan
15 June 2017

What's the story all about...

1939. When war is declared, fifteen-year-old twins Shirley and Tom are evacuated from London to the coastal town of Worthing in Sussex by their mother to keep them safe. Shirley is bright and resourceful – her brother gentle and slow to understand the world around him. When the twins are taken in by local farmer Gilbert, their new home quickly proves to be far from a rural dream. They are forced to labour all day and prevented from contacting home, while Gilbert’s pregnant wife lives in fear of him. Meanwhile, their mother Florrie has stayed in London to be treated for tuberculosis, and the arrival of an unexpected visitor brings back painful memories from the past to haunt her… 

As winter sets in on the farm, Shirley discovers Gilbert is hiding a deadly secret. Will she be able to find a way out for everyone?

And can the power of family bonds help them to survive their ordeal and reunite with their mother at last?

I'm really thrilled to be able to share with you today this exclusive extract from 

Always in My Heart by Pam Weaver

The birth of Janet Oliver’s baby.

Mr Oliver came to the stairs and shouted up at Shirley.

‘Stay where you are, Gilbert Oliver,’ said Granny Roberts. ‘This is no place for a man.’

‘What’s going on?’ he said. ‘What are you doing in my house, you interfering old bid—’ Having reached the landing, he could see the three of them: Janet panting slightly, Granny Roberts mopping her brow with a piece of muslin and Shirley putting down the tea tray.

‘The girl’s having her baby,’ Granny said coldly.

Mr Oliver seemed slightly flummoxed, but then he said, ‘Tell her to hurry up, then. I need a hand with the milking in the morning.’ He pointed a finger at Shirley. ‘And you – get back downstairs.’

‘I need her here,’ said Granny Roberts. She seemed totally unfazed by Mr Oliver’s belligerent attitude. ‘I’m not so young as I used to be. I need the girl with me.’

Mr Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but at the same time Janet cried out as another pain came. He didn’t stay. They heard him clattering his way downstairs, and shortly after that, the back door slammed.

Janet’s little girl was born at eight forty-five. Mr Oliver had been back a couple of times to demand help in the milking parlour, but each time Granny Roberts sent him packing. When she told him the baby had been born, he made no attempt to come up and see her. Shirley washed the baby as Granny Roberts said her hands weren’t so good because of the arthritis. If seeing the baby emerge into the world wasn’t amazing enough, giving her a bath in a bowl of warm water was the most fantastic thing Shirley had ever experienced. She felt an instant link with the child, and the fact that it was December 17th and so close to Christmas made it feel all the more special.

At around ten o’clock, Shirley went back downstairs. Mother and baby were sleeping and Granny Roberts was anxious to get back home to her husband. They put the afterbirth on the fire, and the towels went into the scullery sink to soak in Drummer Boy Blue until Shirley could light the copper and give them a good boil. It had been a long night for all of them, but they felt contented. Granny Roberts said it was good to feel useful again, and even Tom was happy. He’d been working flat out in the milking parlour. Lucky it was Sunday and there was no school. Trudging to the village after the night they’d all had would have been a hard task. Shirley prepared breakfast for everybody. They were all ravenous.

‘Aren’t you going upstairs to see the baby?’ Granny Roberts asked Mr Oliver as Shirley offered to walk her home.

‘What fer?’ he said, pulling on his jacket. ‘One baby is much the same as another.'

About the Author

Pam Weaver was partly inspired to write her latest book Always in My Heart by the discovery of her secret half-brother.They unknowingly grew up together in the same village, as her mother had an affair with an American GI in 1944, and she was raised by a neighbour. 

Pam's saga novels, There's Always Tomorrow, Better Days Will Come, Pack Up Your Troubles, For Better For Worse and Love Walked Right In, are set in Worthing during the austerity years.

Pam's inspiration comes from her love of people and their stories, and her passion for the town of Worthing.

My thanks to the author and her publishers, Pan Macmillan, and also to Bethan at edpr

for the invitation to join in with this Blog Tour and also for their kind permission to share this 

exclusive extract from Always in my Heart

Always in My Heart by Pam Weaver is out now from Pan Macmillan (£6.99 paperback) 

~***~

Review ~ The Boy Who Saw by Simon Toyne

Harper Collins
15 June 2017

The Boy Who Saw takes us into a dark and deeply troubled past. It exposes long buried secrets and uncovers painful memories which once exposed can never be the same again.

When Josef Engel, an elderly tailor, is found brutally murdered in the sleepy French town of Cordes-sur-Ciel, the investigation which follows opens up a complex chain of events which is made even more complicated by the arrival on the scene of an enigmatic stranger, who goes by the name of Solomon Creed. Creed is a multifaceted character, a man with unfathomable secrets, and when his own shadowy past becomes interwoven with that of Josef Engel’s granddaughter, their search for answers into Joseph’s death leads them into some very dark places.

This is the second book in the Solomon Creed series and once again the author has given us a fast and furious story which is filled with all the trademark complexities which are so characteristic of this author’s skilful writing. The multi-layered mystery at the heart of the novel intricately explores the rawness of dark secrets and highlights the ruthlessness of unscrupulous individuals who seek to destroy everything that is good. The clever intertwining of past and present is seamless; the recollection of the vicious treatment in the German internment camps during WW2, which is so integral to the story, is done with an explicitness which at times makes for difficult reading.

Solomon Creed, possessed of an immeasurable charm, is an enigmatic hero. Influenced by eidetic kinaesthesia he has the ability to swap, chameleon like, into any role he chooses. He is incredibly mesmeric, and with more questions about him than there are answers, he is constantly evolving as a character. That he dominates the story is without question, every page that he wasn’t in the story felt like something was missing and yet, this story is about so much more than this enigmatic hero. It’s about the rawness of deep dark secrets, the power of memory and the disintegration of values and beliefs.

Deeply disturbing in places, the story has an uncomfortable edginess which is made all the more powerful by its utter believability.

Best Read with.. Several large glasses of rustic French wine ...

About the Author

Photo Credit: Toby Madden

Website

Follow on Twitter

Visit on Facebook

My thanks to Lovereading.co.uk for the opportunity to read this book as part of the 

Lovereading Review Panel.

For more Lovereading reviews on The Boy Who Saw please click here 

~***~

Author Spotlight...Victoria Cornwall

I am delighted to welcome the author

Victoria Cornwall

Hi Victoria and a very warm welcome to Jaffareadstoo. Thank you for spending time with us today and for taking the time to answer our questions.

Where did you get your inspiration for The Thief's Daughter – were you inspired by people, landscape or did you draw purely from your imagination?

Choc Lit
2017

Thank you for having me on your blog. I think The Thief’s Daughter was the result of several things which came together in a perfect storm. I have always wanted to write an 18th century romance, with a hero who wore a tricorn hat, as I have been a massive Poldark fan ever since the original TV series was aired in the mid ‘70s. I was thrilled when I eventually met the original Ross Poldark, Robin Ellis, and he wished me well for The Thief’s Daughter.

Cornwall’s smuggling history was another source of inspiration for me. My husband and I walked some of the coastal path one summer and came across Pepper Cove, a rocky inlet which was once used for smuggling spices into the county. The cove brought Cornwall’s smuggling past to life for me and motivated me to incorporate the cove and the smuggling trade into the plot.

Pepper Cove

There is a town in Cornwall called Bodmin. Bodmin used to have a debtor’s prison (it now has a pub on the site) and this historic building was the third element that inspired the plot of The Thief’s Daughter. The heroine’s brother, Silas, has been imprisoned in a debtor’s prison and will only be freed when his debts are paid. Unfortunately, the inmates of a debtor’s prison do not have the opportunity to raise the money themselves and they have to rely on family or friends on the outside to pay their creditors. Jenna, his sister, is his only hope and somehow she must find a way to raise the money. 

Bodmin Debtor's Prison

Are you a plotter...or ...a start writing and see where it takes you, sort of writer? 

I am definitely a plotter. It keeps me on track and helps me to pick up the story-line again if I take a break. Plotting also helps me to ensure that each chapter has a purpose and moves the story on, although I still remain flexible. The details of the plot may change, particularly if I wake up in the night and think of a plot twist, however the bones of the plot remain the same. I think I will get a bit lost if I didn’t plot.

Whilst you are writing you must live with your characters. How did you feel about them when the book was finished? Did they turn out as expected?

I really liked Jenna. She is feisty, loyal and caring. However, despite her best intentions, she struggles to decide where her allegiances lie. Is it with her brother, Silas, who saved her life and has always protected her, or Jack Penhale, a man she barely knows? Many things happen and she begins to wonder just who she can trust.

I came to admire and respect Jack. He is a man on a mission. He is focused and driven, although his plans are turned upside down when Jenna enters his life. I love the way he reacts to the issues that arise. I liked his sense of humour too, which he rarely shows. However, there is one character that brings it out in him and I found the serious minded man very endearing when he showed this side of himself.

I also loved writing the character of Silas, Jenna’s brother. He is desperate to leave the debtor’s prison. He is quite a character and I can imagine book clubs having heated discussions and everyone coming up with a different opinion on him. I enjoyed writing his character the most. He directed my storytelling, rather than I directed him. I knew what I wanted him to do, but he added the colour to each scene he was in.

Which character in the story did you identify with the most?

It would have to be Jenna. She is determined and a strong character, but she has moments of awkwardness, embarrassment and self-doubt. I loved writing the mop fair scenes. At one point, (I won’t say why) she tries to hide behind her mop. I can imagine myself doing the same thing if I was her.

The Thief's Daughter is your debut novel, have there been any challenges in getting the book to publication and if so, how did you overcome them?

The Thief’s Daughter is the third book I have written, but the first that was accepted for publication. I am delighted to say that Choc Lit has now acquired my first two novels, plus one other which I have written since. It means that The Thief’s Daughter is the first in a Cornish based series.

It is very difficult for a debut writer to get an agent and the rejections are crushing. I was very naive in the beginning and didn’t present, or pitch, my previous novels to agents well. I have learnt a lot over the years. There is a saying that a published author is a writer who didn’t give up, and I think that fits me perfectly. 

Do you write the type of books you like to read and which authors influence you?

Yes, I do try to write the sort of books I would like to read. I loved Winston Graham’s writing style and books. I also enjoyed reading the books written by E.V.Thompson and Gloria Cook. My writing has been likened to the romantic fiction of the past and I take that as a great compliment. I want the reader to be as much immersed in the plot as they are in the developing love story and I want the love story to have all the highs and lows, the joy and the pain, of falling deeply in love.

I want my stories to be accessible to everyone. You do not need to have a history degree to read or understand them. I do not like reading historical fiction which assumes I know all the ins and outs of that particular era. When I read I do not want a history lesson, however I want to feel that I am in that time period, feeling and seeing what the characters are experiencing. I read for enjoyment, and I want the readers of The Thief’s Daughter to be able to do the same.

Can you tell us if you have another novel planned?

Yes, I am writing another novel. Luckily, I don’t feel too pressured to finish it quickly as I already have three in the pipeline waiting for publication. I can’t wait to share more details about them with you, but for now my lips are sealed. It is a case of watch this space … or rather watch my tweets, Facebook page or pop over to my website. I also have a quarterly newsletter, which readers can sign up to. Upon signing up, readers will receive a short story and find out where Jenna, Jack and Silas’s story really began …

You can find out more about Victoria by using the following links:

Website

Twitter @VickieCornwall

Facebook

Instagram

Pinterest

Read my review of The Thief's Daughter by clicking here

Thank you for having me on your blog today. I have really enjoyed answering your questions and appreciate your invitation to be on here.

It was a real pleasure, Victoria, to have you as our author in the spotlight today.

Come back and see us again soon.

~***~

Sunday WW1 Remembered...

The Battle of Messines

 7-14 June 1917

The Allies plan was to attack around the Ypres Salient in order to drive the Germans out of Belgium. The plans were long in the making and the attack made use of strategic tunnels which had been burrowed underground during the previous eighteen months of planning.

I'd like to quote this observation from Voices and Images of the Great War by Lyn Macdonald

Pastor Van Walleghem : - 7 June 1917  ...What a hellish sound, what an abominable spectacle, thousands of gun-flashes and bangs per minute, beneath a rain of fire and resounding shell and shrapnel explosion, if this were not human carnage one would all it 'wonderful'. For us onlookers this is nothing, but what must it be like for the 100,000 men in that pool of fire...

Ruins of Martens Farm, near Wytschaete, 10 June 1917.

© IWM (Q 5479)

Shells bursting in a valley near Messines, 7 June 1917.

© IWM (Q 5462)

Artillery officers mess, in front of Kemmel, 10 June 1917.

© IWM (Q 5476)

The fine June weather was a bonus and the Battle of Messines was a victory. By removing the Germans from the ridge it ensured that the high ground around the salient was under Allied control.

As always, I am indebted to IWM for the opportunity to feature these photographs from the area around the battle site.

~***~

Close to Home ...Helena Fairfax

As a book reviewer I have made contact with authors from all across the globe and feel immensely privileged to be able to share some amazing work. However, there is always something rather special when a book comes to my attention which has been written by an author in my part of the North. So with this in mind I have great pleasure in featuring some of those authors who are literally close to my home. Over the next few Saturdays, and hopefully beyond, I will be sharing the work of a very talented bunch of Northern authors and discovering just what being a Northerner means to them both in terms of inspiration and also in their writing.

Please welcome Northern writer

Helena Fairfax

Helena, a warm welcome  to Jaffareadstoo and thank you for being our guest today. Tell us a little about yourself and how you got started as an author.

I was born in Uganda, where my parents were working as teachers, and I came to England as a child. Since then I've lived in Yorkshire almost all my life. The older I get, the more I realise just how much this lovely county has to explore and discover. I'm not sure I've ever really got used to the cold in winter, though…! In fact, it was on a cold, grim, northern day that I had my first idea for a romance novel. I was sitting on a commuter train to Leeds, looking at the rain running down the grimy windows, and thinking how wonderful it would be to be somewhere warm. I'd worked in Lyon as a teenager, and an image of that sun-soaked city popped into my head. Gradually a story began to formulate in my mind about a young woman from London who goes to work in a modern-day silk mill in Lyon.

That's how my writing journey started. Every morning after that, as I sat cramped next to my fellow sufferers on the 7.25am, I’d bring my idea to life in my notebook. Eventually the seed of my idea on that commute became my first novel, The Silk Romance.

Your books are written in Northern England – how have the people and its landscape shaped your stories?

While The Silk Romance was a reaction against the cold northern climate, my last two full-length novels have embraced the wild, romantic landscape of the north. 

My latest novel, Felicity at the Cross Hotel, is set in the Lake District. The hero is Cumbrian and the heroine comes from the south of England. Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South is one of my favourite novels, and in creating my hero I realised I'd given him similar characteristics to her hero, John Thornton. Northern men are often said to be down-to-earth and quiet, and my hero Patrick Cross fits that description. He's also quite proud and stubborn when he needs to be, which is another northern characteristic!

I also loved the setting to Felicity at the Cross Hotel, so much so that the landscape becomes a character in its own right. If you've ever been to the Lakes you'll know that on fine days it is glorious. The weather can change rapidly, however, and the lakes that sparkled in the sunshine can quickly appear dark and threatening, and the mountains shrouded in mist. It's one of the most beautiful and mysterious landscapes I've ever visited.

As a writer based in the North, does this present any problems in terms of marketing and promoting your books and if so, how do you overcome them?

I think marketing and promoting is difficult and time-consuming no matter where in the UK you live. Most of my books are indie published, which can present its own difficulties, but luckily most readers recognise these days that many self-published books have all the quality of writing, editing, and cover artwork of books published in the mainstream.

There is lots going on in the north for writers. I live near Bradford, and on 26th August this year I'll be at the second Bradford Indie Lit Fest, along with around forty other indie authors. (The event is free, and tickets can be obtained here )

The newsletter from New Writing North is also an excellent source of events and tips for northern writers.

I haven't found the promoting aspect any more difficult than it would be for writers elsewhere, but one thing I do find harder is getting my work to agents. The publishing industry is heavily London-centric. Agents don't travel north often, so when they do, it's worth taking the opportunity of travelling to see them. Last year I went to an event for writers at Manchester Metropolitan University, for example. You can read my write-up of it in this article in Comma Press 

In your research for your books, did you visit any of the places you write about and which have made a lasting impression?

I've visited all the places I've used as settings. Setting plays a big part in my books, whether it's Richmond Park in London – setting for The Antique Love - or the fictional country of Montverrier in A Year of Light of Shadows, which is based on the real country of Monaco. All these settings have made an impression on me, for very different reasons. Richmond Park because of its history as the oldest Royal Park in London, Monaco because of its association with Grace Kelly, whose films I love, and the Lake District because it's one of the most stunning landscapes in the world. I don't think I could single out one. They are all unique!

If you were pitching the North as an ideal place to live, work and write – how would you sell it and what makes it so special?

I used to love travelling the globe, but as I've got older I've realised just how much there is to see and explore in Yorkshire, and just what I take for granted. I'd pitch the county as a place to live because there is a home to suit everyone – whether that's a house by the sea on the coast, a flat in a city like Leeds, a cottage in the countryside like the Yorkshire Dales, or a place in a historic city like York.

As a place to work, most areas of Yorkshire have excellent public transport, which makes the commute relatively easy. The cost of housing is cheaper here, too, than in the south. My daughter's flat in London could buy a whole mansion where I live.

And as a place to write, there is nowhere I'd rather be. I walk the Yorkshire moors every day with my dog, rain or shine, and it's on this wild landscape that I dream up most of my ideas. Yorkshire isn't short of places to go for inspiration, from ruined abbeys to Roman walls, to the city life of Leeds and Bradford. The person who is bored of Yorkshire is bored of life (to borrow a quotation!)

What are the ups and downs to being an author?

The ups are definitely the readers and authors I've met along the way. I now have friends both locally that I meet up with, and friends across the world – people who I'd never have met if I hadn't started writing. I feel as though I have found my tribe!

Other "ups" are finally writing The End on a book (a brilliant feeling!), having a book accepted for publication, and - especially – getting an email from a reader to say how much they enjoyed your book. Sharing a story is what we write for, and when readers say how much they've loved it, it means an enormous amount.

The downs are the amount of time spent marketing and promoting, and learning how to do that effectively. I wish I could do away with that side altogether and just concentrate on writing. Writing is also very often just a sheer slog. Quite often I sit down at my desk and wish I could just read someone else's wonderful book instead of working away at writing my own. But then when the book is finished, I feel a massive sense of achievement.

Writing is a solitary business - how do you interact with other authors?

The community of romance authors is incredibly supportive. When I first started writing, I relied on the author groups I'd found online, and I've made many friendships through them. I didn't know any other romance authors locally when I first started out. The RNA has a "Chapter" that meets in Harrogate, but the times weren't always convenient. I asked in the Romantic Novelists' Association if anyone would like to meet up informally, and there is now quite a big group of us northern romance authors that meets for lunch in Hebden Bridge every couple of months or so. We call ourselves "Authors on the Edge" – on the edge of Lancashire and Yorkshire!

How supportive are local communities to your writing, and are there ever any opportunities for book shops, local reading groups, or libraries to be involved in promoting your work?

I mentioned Bradford Indie lit Fest above, as well as New Writing North. Last year I gave a workshop at Todmorden Lit Fest, along with fellow romance authors Marie Laval and Sarah Mallory. The festival was organised by Calderdale Libraries, and I've found most local libraries are very keen to promote local authors. Keighley Library, near where I live, runs several reading sessions and workshops.

Local newspapers are also very supportive. I was featured in Bradford's Telegraph and Argus on release of A Way from Heart to Heart, and there was an article about my research with Penrith Divers' Club in the Cumbrian News & Star when I was writing Felicity at the Cross Hotel. "Romance Author Seeks a Hero" was the headline!

I've found promoting the romance genre in bookshops isn't easy, though. Despite the existence of professional organisations such as the Romantic Novelists' Association, there is still a tendency for bookshops to look down on romance novels. When I asked my local bookshop if they'd like the leaflet showing all the nominees for the RNA Awards, they told me they didn't stock "that type of thing"!

Thanks so much for hosting me in your Close to Home slot, Jo, and for your interesting questions. It's been a pleasure talking about Yorkshire!

My latest book, a feel-good summer romance called Felicity at the Cross Hotel, is set in the north, in an old Tudor hotel in the beautiful setting of the Lake District.

Here is the blurb:

A quaint hotel in a romantic landscape. The Cross Hotel is the perfect getaway. Or is it?

Felicity Everdene needs a break from the family business. Driving through the Lake District to the Cross Hotel, past the shining lake and the mountains, everything seems perfect. But Felicity soon discovers all is not well at the Cross Hotel …

Patrick Cross left the village of Emmside years ago never intending to return, but his father has left him the family’s hotel in his will, and now he's forced to come back. With a missing barmaid, a grumpy chef, and the hotel losing money, the arrival of Felicity Everdene from the notorious Everdene family only adds to Patrick’s troubles.

With so much to overcome, can Felicity and Patrick bring happiness to the Cross Hotel … and find happiness for themselves?

Amazon

Author Biography

Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she's secretly in love with. Her novels have been shortlisted for several awards, including the Exeter Novel Prize, the Global Ebook Awards, the I Heart Indie Awards, and the UK's Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme Award. 

Helena is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.

You can find out more about Helena by clicking on the following links:

Newsletter

Website

Facebook 

Twitter 

Pinterest 

Instagram 

Warmest thanks to Helena for being our lovely guest today and for talking about her writing and for sharing her love of Yorkshire with us.

I hope that you have enjoyed this week's Close to Home feature

Coming next week : Melinda Hammond


~***~

Blog Tour ~ All The Good Things by Clare Fisher

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop on the 

All the Good Things Blog Tour

 

Published by Penguin Viking

1st June 2017

What's it all about...

Twenty-one year old Beth is in prison. The thing she did is so bad she doesn't deserve to ever feel good again.

But her counsellor, Erika, won't give up on her. She asks Beth to make a list of all the good things in her life. So Beth starts to write down her story, from sharing silences with Foster Dad No. 1, to flirting in the Odeon on Orange Wednesdays, to the very first time she sniffed her baby's head.

But at the end of her story, Beth must confront the bad thing.

What is the truth hiding behind her crime? And does anyone-even a 100% bad person-deserve a chance to be good?

What did I think about it ...

Twenty one year old Beth is in prison, she did something really terrible but at the start of the novel we don't know what crime she committed. Gradually piece by jagged piece, Beth's sad and sorry story is revealed after her counsellor, Erika, encourages her to write about all the good things she has in her life.

I found this sensitive and well written story so very, very sad. Beth broke my heart into a million pieces as she lurched from one badly made decision to another, none of which was Beth's fault but rather the fault of a system which let her down on so many levels. Naive and vulnerable, Beth could be any one of a number of susceptible young women who gets tangled in the nets of the social care system.  A system which seems to fail more times than it succeeds.

The author writes with perceptive ease and there’s starkness to the story that gets right into your bones and as the story progresses you just know it’s not going to end well. Like me you’ll probably guess what happened but that’s not really the whole point of the story. The focus is the route which Beth took to get to her point of no return and for that I commend the author’s delicate and subtle handling of a story that is so sad, it hurts.

It’s a story about a life fractured and splintered, of ruined relationships, uneasy role models and the desperate cries for help which went, largely unheard.

Best Read With...a handful of chocolate covered beans...

About the author

Clare Sita Fisher was born in Tooting, south London in 1987. After accidentally getting obsessed with writing fiction when she should have been studying for a BA in History at the University of Oxford, Clare completed an MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London. An avid observer of the diverse area of south London in which she grew up, Clare's writing is inspired by her long-standing interest in social exclusion and the particular ways in which it affects vulnerable women and girls. All The Good Things is her first novel.







Follow on Twitter @claresitafisher #AlltheGoodThings

@PenguinUKBooks @PenguinViking

My thanks to the author and also to Josie at Penguin Random House for their invitation to be part of this blog tour.

Blog tour runs until the 28th June so do visit the other tour stops for more exciting content.

~***~

Review ~ Handcuffs,Truncheon and a Polyester Thong by Gina Kirkham

Urbane Publictaions
May 2017

What's it all about...

Meet Mavis Upton. 

As mummy to 7-year old Ella, surrogate to far too many pets and with a failed marriage under her belt, Mavis knows she needs to make some life-changing decisions. It's time to strike out into the world, to stand on her own two feet … to pursue a lifelong ambition to become a Police Officer. I mean, what could go wrong? 

Supported by her quirky, malapropism-suffering mum, Mavis throws herself headlong into a world of uncertainty, self-discovery, fearless escapades, laughter and extra-large knickers. And using her newly discovered investigative skills, she reluctantly embarks on a search to find her errant dad who was last seen years before, making off with her mum's much needed coupon for a fabulous foam cup bra all the way from America.

Follow Mavis as she tackles everything life can throw at her, and revel in Gina Kirkham's humorous, poignant and moving story of an everyday girl who one day followed a dream.

What did I think about it...

Well first off, I want to say that from the very start of the novel I laughed out loud so many times that I was only glad that I was reading the book comfortably at home and not on public transport, otherwise I think I would have been turfed off the bus. 

Meeting Mavis Upton is an absolute joy, she is feisty and funny, and filled with a tangible love for her job as a beat bobby based across the water from Liverpool. Coming late to the police service, Mavis is already a single mum to her seven year old daughter when she has an the idea to join the force. But life as a police constable is never going to be without its challenges, and although Mavis is ably assisted with child care by her mother, who, incidentally, made me smile every time she appeared on the page, juggling shift work is never going to be easy for a single mum.

Mavis seems to sail through her police training, not with incident, I may add, but it is once she is assigned to her police section that she really comes into her own. Compassionate, quirky and not always very politically correct, Mavis is one of those police officers who you would always wish to turn up whenever there was trouble.

To say more would be to spoil the effect of meeting Mavis for yourself , so I won't give anything more away, other than to heap praise on this debut author who has given us such a wonderful character, and who has brought Mavis' story to life with such gusto that I was truly sad when the book ended. I loved everything about the story, the banter and the camaraderie of a police section feels entirely realistic, which can only stem for the author's own experiences as a serving police officer. 

They say that you should always write about what you know and if the author's alter ego was anything like Mavis Upton then I'm, sure she was an absolute joy to work alongside.

Best Read With...Toasted crumpets with lashings of Lurpak...

About the Author

You can also read my earlier interview with Gina by clicking here

Find Gina on her website 

Follow on Twitter @GinaGeeJay #HandcuffsTruncheonandaPolyesterThong
#whereismavisuptonsthong

My thanks to the Author and also to Matthew at Urbane Publications for sharing a review copy of Handcuffs,Truncheon and a Polyester Thong with me.

~***~