15.12.19

BLOG TOUR: Mrs P's Book of Secrets by Lorna Gray

There are no white shrouded spectres here, no wailing ghouls. Just the echoes of those who have passed, whispering that history is set to repeat itself.The Cotswolds, Christmastime 1946: A young widow leaves behind the tragedy of her wartime life, and returns home to her ageing aunt and uncle. For Lucy – known as Mrs P – and the people who raised her, the books that line the walls of the family publishing business bring comfort and the promise of new beginnings.But the kind and reserved new editor at the Kershaw and Kathay Book Press is a former prisoner of war, and he has his own shadows to bear. And when the old secrets of a little girl’s abandonment are uncovered within the pages of Robert Underhills’s latest project, Lucy must work quickly if she is to understand the truth behind his frequent trips away.For a ghost dwells in the record of an orphan girl’s last days. And even as Lucy dares to risk her heart, the grief of her own past seems to be whispering a warning of fresh loss…
Publisher: One More Chapter
I am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Lorna Gray’s new book, Mrs P’s Book of Secrets which is published this month.
Lucy or Mrs P as she prefers to be known is a war widow and she has returned to her aunt and uncle’s home in Moreton In Marsh in the Cotswolds. Her relatives run a small book publishers above a book shop and give Lucy a job. She has to stay in the small attic room above the shop as her aunt and uncle have a lodger in the form of Robert Underhill living with and working for them. Robert was a prisoner of war for most of the fighting and now he is trying to resurrect his former life and continue his career as a book editor. Lucy is most intrigued by him but she is still grieving the loss of her own husband so any feelings she develops are very much conflicted. The ghost within the story is in the form of a child they discover was abandoned when they are reading a manuscript given to them. Both Robert and Lucy want to know more and this brings them closer together whilst also making them confront the tragedies from their own pasts. 
Mrs P’s Book of Secrets is delightful in the way that it deals with the world of books. I loved how Lucy works and sleeps within a publishers which is above a bookshop, she is literally surrounded by books. Lorna Gray explores the importance of stories and the power they can yield. Both Lucy and Robert have their own stories to tell but at the beginning of the book neither of them are ready to share them with others. 
I felt that Lorna Gray dealt very sensitively in showing life after the war for both those involved in the fighting and those who stayed at home. So much was not spoken about almost because there was not the language for it. The atrocities witnessed had not been described before. Lucy and Robert’s relationship is a good way of showing how difficult it was to support those who returned in dealing with what they had experienced. 
Lorna Gray presents likeable characters and there is a mystery at the heart of the book that leaves you wanting more at the end of each chapter. This book would be a great choice for fans of historical fiction, particularly, if like me you also have a love of books! 
Many thanks to Lorna Gray for inviting me to be part of her blog tour!a


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