From the book blurb:
The Mersey Mothers
Liverpool 1953
January sees the dawn of the Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation year as the mothers of Reckoners Row unite in preparation for the celebration of the new Queen.
Meanwhile Evie Kilgaren is dreaming of her summer wedding to Danny Harris, but trouble looms for Skinner & Sons with a new rival trying to put them out of business, but no-one knows why….
Ada Harris is summoned to the bedside of her estranged husband, who, in his dying moment confesses to a deadly secret – he knows who really murdered Evie’s mam Rene all those years ago and the consequences are far reaching.
Has an innocent man been jailed and is there still a murderer walking carefree?
Will Evie get the happy-ever-after she so longs for with Danny? And will The Mersey Mothers unite and still be friends?
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: April 19th, 2022
My thoughts:
This was my first book by Sheila Riley and I can see now why her novels are extremely popular. The book is so engaging and easy to read that it’s impossible not to fall in love with its fabulous characters!
The Mersey Mothers starts with a grim prologue. If you’ve read the previous books in the Reckoner’s Row series, you already know that Evie Kilgaren’s mother Rene was murdered in 1947. Here we get a brief glimpse of what happened and know the case wasn’t as clear-cut as it appeared to the investigating authorities. Is it possible that Rene’s husband, Frank Kilgaren, was wrongly convicted and sent away to the Asylum for Criminally Insane?
Fast forward to 1953. While the whole country is preparing for the coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II, Evie Kilgaren is preparing for her summer wedding with Danny Harris (Skinner). They are doing their best to keep Danny’s delivery business afloat, but the company is rapidly losing its customers and is in trouble. Ada Harris, the woman who the woman who raised Danny, is called to the deathbed of her estranged husband Bert. There shocked Ada finds out Bert knew who really killed Evie’s mother Rene, but will she have courage to help to right the past wrongs?
It is very easy to follow the story even if you haven’t read the previous parts. Having said this, I wish I’d started from the beginning of this family saga- the writing style is extremely enjoyable and I loved all the historical detail that put the story into a wider context and brought it to life for me.
Heartwarming, family and community-oriented, full of likeable, strong characters, The Mersey Mothers has a lot going for it and will be much appreciated by the readers who enjoy the historical fiction genre!
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
readingtonic 
This sounds interesting, nice review, Toni.
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Thank you, Carla! The writing style is so lovely, I do regret not having started the series earlier. I keep thinking about the crime and how the series is set at the time when there was still capital punishment in the UK (actually this is something I always think about when I read Agatha Christie as well). I wish I’d read about Frank’s time in Ireland and all the complex feelings related to his deserter status.
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You can always go back to the beginning. 😀 That is the risk we take when we start a series partway through. I have added so many books to my TBR doing that.
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Great review, Toni. I am always looking out for historical fiction books. Thanks for putting it on my radar.
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Thank you, Debjani! It’s such a lovely series in general and this one coming out the year of the Jubilee is a real treat. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Amazing review, Toni! I love it when there is a strong sense of community in the book. This sounds interesting and well written.
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Thank you, Yesha! It wasn’t just that, it was fun to read, but I’d definitely start from book 1😁
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