Mary Paulson-Ellis
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One Point Two Billion, The Other Mrs Walker and more
Simon and Nina pick out the books you should be reading this month.
Posted on 17th March 2016 by Rob Chilver
Simon and Nina, two book bloggers, highlight the books you should be reading this month.
Nina picked:
I’m a sucker for good old fashioned storytelling, and stories about family told over multiple timescales, so The Other Mrs Walker by Mary Paulson-Ellis ticked all these boxes for me. Margaret Penny, whose life hasn’t quite turned out as she’d wished, heads back to Edinburgh to see her mother Barbara. Their relationship is uncomfortable and both are full of secrets. Once there, Margaret lands a job searching for family and paperwork of a recently deceased woman called Mrs Walker. The story jumps between 1929 to 2011 and little by little Margaret, and the reader discover things about Mrs Walker. What I really liked were the little nuggets from past years which were mentioned in the present time, it was clever how I, as the reader knew things that Margaret didn’t. The question of whether there is a link between Margaret and Mrs Walker flits through the whole book. The story is pieced together beautifully. It’s a story of family, of mothers, sisters, and daughters. If you’re a fan of Kate Morton or loved Letters To The Lost by Iona Grey then this will be right up your street.