Lissa Evans

Small Bomb at Dimperley is set in 1945 as the war ends and Valentine Vere-Thissett is returning home to Dimperley Manor. Like other aristocratic returning war heroes, he didn't expect to be the one taking up the title but the loss of his older brother means that he must now step up to the mark. Unfortunately, Dimperley is rather dilapidated and death duties might mean the loss of the estate.

This book is simply superb. First of all there's Dimperley itself, its faded grandeur and bizarre taxidermy providing the perfect backdrop to Valentine's return. Whilst it's clearly rundown, the reader is invited to see it through the eyes of both those who genuinely love it and those who love the importance that the title and estate give them. The book is populated by characters who just leap right off the page. I thought Valentine was a dream, down to earth and new to such responsibility, but determined to do his best. I loved Zena Baxter too, a young woman who came to Dimperley when it was a maternity home and stayed on as secretary to Valentine's uncle. Valentine's mother, Irene (Lady Vere-Thissett if you please), is a little harder to like, but a wonderfully drawn character nevertheless. I had the softest spot for Miss Hersey too, a lady's maid who now finds herself doing everything.

Ultimately, Small Bomb at Dimperley is an ode to the country house, to the loss of so many of them, and to the resourceful cohort who found new ways to live and ensure that some of the estates could endure (one of my local country estates at Chatsworth has achieved this so well). What I love about Evans' writing is that the humour makes me laugh out loud one minute and the next minute the moving observations are like a punch to the gut. I thought this was a magnificent book with a fascinating setting, wonderful characters, and a lovely story with a charming ending.… (more)

Stuart Horten is not at all pleased when his parents announce they are moving to Beeton at the beginning of the summer - the worst time to move. Yet when Stuart discovers a clue left by his Great-Uncle Tony Horten (stage name Teeny Tiny Tony Horten), he sets off on a treasure hunt around town. His quest becomes more urgent when nosy next door neighbor April Kingley informs him that Great-Uncle Tony's house is slated for demolition; reluctantly, Stuart invites April into his quest. They are helped by Leonora, whose sister Lily was engaged to Tony and disappeared, and pursued by Jeannie, a money-hungry mayor who wants to mass-produce Tony's marvelous mechanisms.

A mystery with a touch of magic. Marvelous.… (more)

It's 1940. The blitz in London is at its noisiest and most destructive. But morale-boosting films must go on being made. So we meet a cast of characters who keep us entertained for 400 pages. A has-been actor who doesn't realise his glory-days are over, a sheltered-but-looking-for-life spinster in her 30s, a military adviser who's led a more than sheltered life, a young script writer from the Welsh valleys and her dyspeptic and wryly witty boss. Oh, and a simply awful dog. The action is pacy, the dialogue well-pitched and believable. Best of all though is this book's ability to transport us to war-ravaged London: its smells and sounds and all-pervading shabbiness and dust and gritty dirt.

The blurb's misleading. Young Welsh Catrin is no more centre-stage than Ambrose the actor or Edith the spinster or any of the other main characters. That's fine. We become interested and involved in the lives of each of them. I even felt sorry for Ambrose when that ghastly dog..... oooh, no sorry, spoiler alert.… (more)

A witty and engaging war time yarn. I gather this is a follow up to an earlier book, but that fact I hadn't read it - or even heard of it - didn't matter at all, as the characters were fully fleshed out. There are two strands to this story. One follows Winnie, ARP warden, who's plump, sensible, with a husband who's away fighting the war, and a glamorous twin sister who is neither plump nor sensible. The other follows Vee, who keeps herself solvent by running a boarding house whilst also raising her 15 year old orphaned nephew, that it turns out is not her nephew. It's not really any kind of spoiler alert to reveal that these two strands do eventually come together. I did have a little difficulty at first in keeping these two strands of the story apart - Winnie? Vee? I was easily confused. This is a book that brings the sheer boredom, drudgery and beigeness of the last year of the war to life: a period when it looked as though the war MIGHT end, but with no real signs in everyday life of its doing so - especially as bombs continued to do their worst in London. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters - apart from Winnie and Vee, Vee's 15 year old 'nephew' Noel is the other main protagonist, but there are others with engaging bit parts, such as the twin sister Ruth, an American GI Mario, and the various boarding house inhabitants. An easily read and involving novel.… (more)