Katie Flynn (1936–2019)

Sixpenny Christmas by Katie Flynn tells the story of two families who lives are twined together from the moment both women give birth to their daughters on a stormy night. Although Ellen lives in Liverpool and is married to a drunken, violent man and Molly has a happy marriage and lives on a remote hill farm, they stay in contact with each other but one of the women, because of a strange incident at the hospital, is never sure that their babies weren’t switched and that hey are raising each other’s daughter.

Many years go by and the friendship has only deepened. Ellen has thrown her husband out and has gotten an injunction to keep him away. He has taken to lurking about and has followed her to the small farm in the mountains. He is plotting his revenge and sees the best way to get at Ellen is through her daughter. The other problem is that Molly’s son, Chris, and Ellen’s daughter, Lana seem to be attracted to each other and Molly fears that these two are destined for heartbreak if, indeed, they are brother and sister.

Sixpenny Christmas is a sentimental, rather sweet read set in post-war Britain and Wales. The narrative covers a number of years so there are plenty of good old fashioned Christmas to read about as well as the day to day life on the hill farm. This was the first book by Katie Flynn that I have read but I certainly will be looking for more of her books to read in the future.… (meer)

this is the first Katie Flynn book I have read, and I didn't know of her subject matter when I started this - in fact I didn't even realise it was set in Liverpool! Stories set around WW2 aren't really my type of story, but I did enjoy this one. Unlike the Annie Groves saga I read earlier in the year, this has few ups and downs, and is set over nearly a decade rather than a few months. It is a gentle weaving story, intertwining the lives of several characters quite nicely. I guessed what was going to occur with the central characters, but the peripheral ones surprised me a little.

It was an easy read, and I did want to know what happened to them as the book progressed. Not sure I would read another, simply as it is not my genre of choice. If you like this type of period story though, then go for it!… (meer)