Liverpool 1950
When Evie Kilgaren takes over the running of the back office at Skinner and Son’s haulage yard, she has no idea she is walking into a hive of blackmail, secrets and lies.
Her fellow co-worker and childhood nemesis, Susie Blackthorn, is outraged at being demoted and is hell-bent on securing the affections of local heartthrob Danny Harris.
Grace Harris, a singer on the prestigious D’Angelo transatlantic ocean liners, is returning home engaged to be married. But Grace is harbouring her own shocking secrets and something valuable her fiancé very desperately wants back.
As we return to the lives and loves of those who live and work in the Mersey Docklands, not everything is as it seems and love and luck are rarely on the same side.
Reckoner’s Row series
Book 1 – The Mersey Orphan
Book 2 – The Mersey Girls
Really Interesting, Period Perfect, Read! 
Set in post-WWII period, this is a pleasurable story of family, neighbours and friends in Liverpool.
Grace Harris is living the dream; singer on a cruise ship sailing home to introduce her new fiance to her family; but is he all he seems to be? Her brother, Danny Harris, works hard in Skinner’s Haulage and has his own dreams – he doesn’t want to be a worker all his life and is saving towards owning his own business one of these days. Also working at Skinner’s is Susie Blackthorn, Grace’s friend, who is absolutely relentless in her pursuit of romance with Danny despite him showing no inclination of ever heading down that path. Whilst Danny excels at his job, Susie makes a poor fist of hers and Evie Kilgaren is brought in as Office Manager to get the yard back on a proper business footing once more. These three are the Mersey Girls.
Full disclosure – I didn’t read the first book in this series. I do have it, but just couldn’t manage to fit it into my reading list before reaching this one (no matter how hard I tried). However, although I prefer to read series’ in their entirety, this is an excellent stand alone. This is a packed novel comprising a family saga, romance, mystery and community. Well-crafted with a fine array of entirely plausible characters, I enjoyed this one and will definitely be on the lookout for more from Sheila Riley. With never a dull moment, this mixes everything together to make a really interesting, period perfect, read. 4.5* and recommended!
My thanks to the publisher for my copy and to Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on this tour; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.
Tags: family saga, post-WWII
- Format: ebook, paperback, audiobook
- Size: 302 pages
- Publisher: Boldwood
- Publication Date: 18 August 2020
- Links: Goodreads
- Google Play
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- Waterstones
- amazon
Author Bio
Sheila Riley was born in Southport, Merseyside when the local dockside maternity hospital was closed to new arrivals by the onset of scarlet fever. As a child she liked nothing more than sitting quietly, so as not to be noticed and sent out, listening to adults converse. Much was learned while earwigging!
She also had a vivid imagination, and what she didn’t understand of the outside world she invented for her own amusement. And so began a lifetime’s love of storytelling…
The Mersey Orphan is set in the frozen docklands of 1947 Liverpool and became a bestseller in the UK and Canada.
Social Media
Twitter: @1sheilariley
Facebook: @SheilaRileyAuthor
Instagram: @sheilarileynovelist
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