Many thanks to Hayley from ED Public Relations for sending me this wonderful and of course to Penguin. Being sent a book by a favourite author of mine is rather wonderful and I feel privileged to have received it.
Coronation Day, 1953.
Molly Heywood has always been a pillar of strength for her local community, so when her friend Cassie fails to attend the Coronation Day party in the village, it is Molly who heads out in the rain to look for her.
But nothing can prepare Molly for what she going to discover.
Now with Cassie gone and her six year-old daughter Petal missing, it is up to Molly to head to London to uncover the past Cassie kept so well hidden.
But will Molly discover the truth before it's too late? Or has Petal disappeared forever?
Having being introduced to Lesley Pearse by my Gran, I've been a fan of her work for many years but it's been some time since I've read one of her novels. So having an email wondering if I would like to review Without A Trace, I certainly wasn't going to let it slip!
We meet Molly Heywood a girl in her early twenties tied to working in her unbearable wife beating father's shop, without the company of her mother Molly would've left years ago. Having discovered her friend Cassie on Coronation Day and Petal her mixed-race child missing, the opportunity arises for her to leave her quiet Somerset village and set off to London in hope of finding out what happened to Petal and bringing her home.
Through the dangerous, rough streets of London's Whitechapel an environment that is alien to Molly she goes through a series of life threatening events. Finding possible love, obtaining a job and meeting new friends, Molly makes a personal journey of her own development with some shocking revelations revealed. This really is an action packed story.
Conveying the traditional characters and therefore old views on race and gender equality, this book really gives you something to get your teeth into.
At times throughout the book I felt that the plot kept going off in different directions and I just wanted Molly to focus on finding Petal, but despite this there were so many twists that intertwined with the plot and I was blown away. If the book was a little more fast paced and not, what I call "fluffy," then my rating would definitely be a four star overall. I kept finding myself putting the book down and coming back to it because it was easy to and I didn't feel desperate to find out the outcome.
However, remaining faithful, with any book by Lesley Pearse, I'm never disappointed and all the loose ends came together in the end. A truly heart-warming book full of moments open for discussion, I urge anyone to give this book a read!
