I've read others of Jean Fullerton's well researched social histories and was delighted to read another in the Brogan family saga. It's like stepping into a friend's house to catch up on all the latest goings-on. But I think each one can satisfy as a stand-alone story.
I'm hooked on the series for the ongoing story and the characters but the main reason I wouldn't want to miss one is Jean Fullerton's way of really bringing the setting to life. I was plunged back into wartime East End London with its grime and strained jollity, the danger and hardship. Every detail rings true but is never artificially forced on the reader's attention. The snotty noses, games and uncomfortable clothing of the children I find particularly poignant. Some of the men are brutal, some of the women make poor choices, some people attract bad luck. All the noises and smells, the discomforts and dreariness, everyday heroism and love and stoic cheerfulness surrounded me and I emerged blinking each time I had to put the book down.
Like much genre fiction, the broad sweep of the plot is predictable: the lovers unite against the world, the detective solves the murder case, the hero defeats the enemy. I believe the attraction for the reader lies in exactly HOW the storyteller works everything out whilst being confident it WILL work out. Jean Fullerton skilfully blends her fictional characters with historical settings and events, amid class and moral and racial tensions.
I'm hooked on the series for the ongoing story and the characters but the main reason I wouldn't want to miss one is Jean Fullerton's way of really bringing the setting to life. I was plunged back into wartime East End London with its grime and strained jollity, the danger and hardship. Every detail rings true but is never artificially forced on the reader's attention. The snotty noses, games and uncomfortable clothing of the children I find particularly poignant. Some of the men are brutal, some of the women make poor choices, some people attract bad luck. All the noises and smells, the discomforts and dreariness, everyday heroism and love and stoic cheerfulness surrounded me and I emerged blinking each time I had to put the book down.
Like much genre fiction, the broad sweep of the plot is predictable: the lovers unite against the world, the detective solves the murder case, the hero defeats the enemy. I believe the attraction for the reader lies in exactly HOW the storyteller works everything out whilst being confident it WILL work out. Jean Fullerton skilfully blends her fictional characters with historical settings and events, amid class and moral and racial tensions.