Her first stand-alone novel following her Webster sisters trilogy, this is post World War II rural Somerset and based on the identity of an orphan boy, leading to startling repercussions. Comparisons: Margaret Dickinson, Elvi Rhodes, Iris Gower. Similar this month: Lilian Harry, Rosie Harris.
Angie Westwood is horrified when her cousin, Jane, dies of heart failure at the tender age of 20, leaving a 3 year old son and an unresolved mystery over the identity of his father.
Angie adopts Danny straight away, but is torn between a desire to trace his father for the boy's sake, and a fear of losing him and complicating matters unnecessarily. She takes Danny down to the farm in Somerset she and Jane were evacuated to during the war, and they both heal more quickly with the love and support of the Sawyer family, who treat them as their own. However the moment they lay eyes on Danny, it is immediately apparent to the Sawyers who Danny's father was, and they enlist the help of Major Bob Strachan, currently closing down the last of the prisoner of war camps in the area, to travel to Germany and track Dieter down . . .
Beryl Matthews was born in London but now lives in Hampshire. She grew up in a family of enthusiastic readers, and books have always been a very important part of her life. As a young girl her ambition was to become a professional singer, but lack of funds drove her into an office, where she worked her way up from tea-girl to credit controller. Her hobbies are writing, reading, swimming and golf.
