Friday, 7 September 2018
Release Date: 3rd September 2018
Genres: Women's Fiction / Historical / Romance
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When three sisters, Ginny, Sally and Molly are brought
together at their father’s hospital bed, they are forced to confront not only
the prospect of a future without him but also the secrets of the past that have
kept them apart.
Their father, Eddie Matthews, drugged up on morphine, seems
to be rambling but could he in fact be reliving previous lives as a Tudor monk
and as a soldier on the Front in WW1? Struggling to speak he reveals that he
has a secret and urges his daughters to ‘Find Rose’. Can the sisters put aside
their differences to fulfil his last wish?
EXTRACT
“So, how is he
today?” Sally asked the nurse.
“Bit of a
rough night but as you can see, he’s quite comfortable now. He might be out of
it a bit when he wakes up because of the morphine. Oh, and he keeps asking for
his brother, William. Do you know if he would be able to visit?”
Sally looked
at the nurse, confused, “Oh he hasn’t got a brother.”
“Probably the
effects of the morphine then; nothing to worry about. You’ll find a lot of what
they say at this stage doesn’t always make a lot of sense.”
The nurse was
busy so Sally took the opportunity to grab a coffee whilst her dad dozed.
She made her
way up to the top floor where there was a very nice café. As she nursed her
cappuccino, the nurse’s words kept ringing in her ears. How odd that dad was
asking after a brother. As far as she knew, the only William in the family was
her grandfather, her dad’s dad, and he’d died when she was a baby so she had no
recollection of him at all. What if there’d been an older brother though, named
after him? That would make sense as people often named the first son after the
father. Odd that nobody had ever mentioned it before if there was a brother.
She finished her drink and put it to the back of her mind. The nurse was
probably right and the drugs were making his mind wander. He was no doubt
thinking about his own dad.
Hearing her
phone ring, she checked to see who was calling. They didn’t seem to mind you
having phones on in this hospital, as long as they didn’t need to use any
sensitive equipment. Even the nurses used them on the quiet. She glanced at the
handset, pleased to see her husband Damian’s name flash up. With three kids and her father in hospital,
she really needed his support now more than ever.
“Hi babe,” she
began.
“Hiya.”
There was a
pause before he continued, “How’s your dad?”
“Not much
change to be honest. They don’t know if he’s got days or weeks …look, about
last night, I’m sorry if I snapped.”
“I’m not
ringing about last night.”
“Oh?”
“Things are
just not working out between us , babe.”
“I know I’ve
been a bit short-tempered lately but I’ve apologized for that. I’m on edge all
the time because my dad is bloody dying..”
“I think we
need a bit of time apart. Time to take stock.”
“What, you
mean a kind of trial separation?’
“I’m sorry
babe but I’m moving out. In fact, I’ve taken most of my stuff this morning.”
Sally felt her
stomach turn to ice as he dropped the bombshell. It was clear that it wasn’t a
spur of the moment decision. If he’d taken his stuff then he already had a
place to stay.
“Could we at
least talk about this? What about the kids?”
“I’ll come
round at teatime, okay?”
Before she had
time to reply, he’d hung up. It seemed as if he’d moved on as well as moved out
she thought. He hadn’t said he’d be home at tea time, rather he’d come round.
Admittedly she’d been distant of late. It was
the only way she could cope but she had had no idea that things were quite so
bad. She crossed her fingers hoping that he’d come to his senses and this was
just a temporary blip in their marriage.
As she went
back onto the ward, she saw that both her sisters were in attendance, one at each
side of dad. Neither of them looked at the other and the hostility between them
was palpable. She took up her usual position at the foot of the bed as she
tried to put a brave face on things and pretend that everything was alright..
She knew that if Ginny mentioned one more time that she shouldn’t cry in front
of dad, she would end up doing just that. Whereas she was emotional, Ginny was
detached and totally in control. Molly was the dark horse. You never quite knew
where you were with her.
“He’s been rambling
again, Molly said, “something about the bin men being early.”
“The nurse did
say that might happen after the drugs they gave him if you remember,” Sally
replied.
“Right well,
how about we grab a coffee?” Ginny said.
“You two go if
you like, I’ve just had one.”
“I’m ok too.”
Molly replied somewhat abruptly, then added, “I’m off to the loo,”
“As the two of
them left, a sense of peacefulness came over the room, broken only by the raspy
sound of dad breathing and the electronic hum from the machines. Sally settled
down with a book. So far, she’d read the same page three times, unable to
really focus on the words. She put the book down and gazed out of the window
over the rooftops of the different hospital buildings. Just then the hydraulic
bed gave a hiss of escaping air,
“Bloody bin
men,” dad muttered in his sleep.
Sally couldn’t
help smiling to herself. Dad still had all his marbles it seemed. No doubt the
morphine did mean he was a bit out of it but she could see now that the
hydraulics used on the bed to prevent bed sores did sound just like the bin men
lifting the bins up on the hydraulic lift. She held his hand, stroking the back
of it lightly, wondering for just how much longer she’d be able to do that.
I must admit to being a bit confused when I first read the blurb to this. And then, I became fascinated by the entire concept of someone living a past life. I'm really glad I gave this book a chance because I did enjoy it. The three sisters in the book do not have a great relationship. But, being brought together around their father's death bed almost forces them to confront the issues that brought them to this point in their lives. Three very different people, each with their own issues, unified by the imminent death of their father. However, when their father starts to talk about people they've never heard of, things take a rather strange turn and the sisters soon find things taking a very different path for them and might this just be what finally brings them together once more?
Julie Ryan has handled the different timelines beautifully. While set in different historical periods, the story doesn't become at all confusing. In fact I found it totally intriguing. This book is a great example of how to write a novel in multiple timelines well! It doesn't feel like a history lesson but more like a mystery that makes it very difficult to put down and draws the reader into the lives of the people involved. The reader becomes invested in the characters and their situation. Some of the scenes were quite harrowing such as the WW1 story. Julie Ryan has captured the true horrors of war and the effect on people's lives and relationships.
The author's writing is excellent as always. I'm a real Julie Ryan fan and she doesn't disappoint with this book. The book is well paced and has enough clues thrown in to keep you desperate to solve exactly what is going on. This is a real story with a twist with a whole host of interesting characters and scenarios. This book just has that little bit of something that makes it hard to put down. I really don't want to say too much more for fear of giving the story away with spoilers, suffice to say I loved it. A highly recommended read from me.
ABOUT JULIE RYAN
Julie Ryan’s roots are in a small
mining village in South Yorkshire. After a degree in French Language and
Literature, wanderlust kicked in and she lived and worked in France, Poland,
Thailand and Greece. Her spirit enriched, her imagination fired, Julie started
a series of mystery romances, thrillers set in the Greek Isles.
In a new venture, Julie's latest book is a contemporary novel with a strong historical element encompassing both the Tudor Court and the battlefields of WW1. ‘Finding Rose’ was inspired by her grandfather’s story and by losing her own father.
A prolific and well-known book review
blogger, Julie does her writing and reviewing from rural Gloucestershire, where
she lives with her husband, son and dippy cat. An absolute bookaholic, she will
soon be looking to relocate to a mansion on the scale of Buckingham Palace.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Julieryanauthor
Twitter: @julieryan18
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/458168.Julie_Ryan
Instagram: Julie2253
Thanks so much JB - you've summed it up perfectly and so glad you found it intriguing rather than confusing.