Out today in paperback is Louise Walter’s first novel Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase, which I’ve been wanting to read since I heard about it. I love timeslip novels and the blurb looked right up my street – but my rules about not buying hardbacks except in extremis (and anyone who’s seen a photo of my to-read pile knows that I’m not in extremis!) meant I had to hold my horses and wait for the paperback! I was thrilled to get a copy ahead of its release – and wanted to share my thoughts about it.
Firstly the plot: Roberta collects letters left inside the books that she sells, but when she discovers a letter from her grandfather written after he was supposed to be dead, family secrets start to unravel. The book moves between Roberta in the present day (or near enough) and her grandmother, Dorothy, in the 1940s as the reader discovers what really happened during the Second World War.
I absolutely gobbled this book up – all done in two train journeys. I would have tried to make it last longer, but I was too desperate to find out what happened to pace myself. Roberta’s story is slighter than Dorothy’s but is no less fascinating. I thought both the leading ladies were engaging and believable and I really wanted to know what the solution to the puzzle was.* World War II isn’t usually my first choice of historical period to read about, but this has made me think that I need to read some more books set in this period.
This is a really impressive first novel – I’m passing it straight on to my mum (and then probably my sister) and I will be looking forward to more books from Louise Walters.
If you want to read Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase it should be available in all good bookshops (and I hope nice and prominent) like
Foyles and also
Kindle and other e-readers.
My copy of Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase was sent to me by Bookbridgr in return for an honest review.
* I’m trying not to give details about the plot away because I’m sure there will be other people out there who’ve been waiting for this the way that I have.
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Published by veritywilde
Journalist, armchair sports fan, book worm and show fiend. There's a sentence you don't hear too often.
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Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 