Sheila Riley – The Mersey Angels

‘The Mersey Angels’ by Sheila Riley is the second book of a historical fiction series called The Dockside Sagas. They are set in Liverpool in the first World War. I love all of Sheila’s stories so knew I was heading for a belting read with her latest book.

1916 LIVERPOOL
Following the death of her father, Ruby Swift and her husband Archie finally move back into Ashland Hall.
As the Great War rages, fathers and sons take the King’s Shilling and head off to fight the unknown enemy, not knowing what horrors lie ahead.
With Ned Kincaid in the Navy, Archie signs up to the volunteer constabulary and nurses Anna Cassidy and Ellie Harrington enlist to do their bit for King and Country.

Soon the true casualties of war are being brought home in droves, Ruby converts Ashland Hall into an auxiliary hospital for wounded servicemen.

It’s not long before the true cost of war is brought closer to home and Anna and Ellie enlist in the British Military Nursing Corp and soon find themselves in the battlefields of France in search of the truth.
But they soon discover more than they bargained for…

Although this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone as all of Sheila Riley’s books can. My personal preference is to always read them in order but it isn’t needed as every book is focused on someone different. Sheila Riley writes what she knows so we can glimpse into the lives of the community in Liverpool and how they survived the first world war. These people had to suffer the hardships of war and still live their lives. Women doing jobs they would never have been offered if it wasn’t for war, longer hours, less food. The hardships are there, laid bare for all to see while war is raging in the background.

Every character has their own story and I was so engrossed with them all I couldn’t put the book down. I am a history geek and I come from Manchester, well, just outside but Liverpool is a stone’s throw away from us. I have always been fascinated by the North West and how they dealt with the wars. I just felt like I was at home reading this book and the characters reminded me so much of people like my grandmother and our older generations, the similarities between the two places (Liverpool and Manchester) are very striking and I could have been reading about my own family from generations gone before.

Sheila Riley writes from her heart and her books strike a chord within me every time I read one. The poverty, warmth, inner strength of these people all make these books an emotional read for me and I feel like I have spent the time it took me to read the book, side by side with these people. I am looking forward to the next story to catch up with everyone.

Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the copy of this book.