Synopsis
As the last train leaves, will life ever be the same?
Dorset 1935: Stationmaster Ted has never cared much for romance. Occupied with ensuring England’s most beautiful railway runs on time, love has always felt like a comparatively trivial matter. Yet when he meets Annie Galbraith on the 8.42 train to Lynford, he can’t help but instantly fall for her.
But soon the railway is forced to close and a terrible accident occurs within the station grounds, Ted finds his job and any hope of a relationship with Annie hanging in the balance…
Present day: Recovering from heartbreak after a disastrous marriage, Tilly decides to escape from the bustling capital and move to Dorset to stay with her dad, Ken.
When Ken convinces Tilly to help with the restoration of the old railway, she discovers a diary hidden in the old ticket office. Tilly is soon swept up in Ted’s story, and the fateful accident that changed his life forever.
But an encounter with an enigmatic stranger takes Tilly by surprise, and she can’t help but feel a connection with Ted’s story in the past…
My review
Dual timeline stories seem to be all the rage at the moment, and when they’re as skilfully handled and beautifully written as this one then I’m really glad that they are!
So much goes on in this story, both in the present and past. We have misunderstandings, secrets, love, errors and atonement. There’s tension, fulfilment, disappointments and joy. As a reader you run a rollercoaster of emotions along with the characters.
Every character we meet is rounded, interesting and very persuasively portrayed. Settings are sharply detailed and convincing. That of the 1930s is particularly appealing. It was a time of great hardships – physical, financial and social – but there was also an air of overriding simplicity. That’s not to say the modern part of the story is inferior, because it isn’t, but I got a warmer feeling from the earlier timeline events.
This book is a total pleasure to read and I highly recommend it.
Purchase links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stationmasters-Daughter-gripping-heartbreaking-historical-ebook/dp/B07P556918/
US – https://www.amazon.com/Stationmasters-Daughter-gripping-heartbreaking-historical-ebook/dp/B07P556918/
Author bio
KATHLEEN MCGURL lives near the sea in Bournemouth, UK, with her husband. She has two sons who are now grown-up and have left home. She began her writing career creating short stories, and sold dozens to women’s magazines in the UK and Australia. Then she got side-tracked onto family history research – which led eventually to writing novels with genealogy themes. She has always been fascinated by the past, and the ways in which the past can influence the present, and enjoys exploring these links in her novels.
Social media links
twitter @KathMcGurl
www.facebook.com/KathleenMcGurl/
About Me
