When Violet qualifies as a teacher in post war Britain, she isn't sure that it is really what she wants to do. When she sees an ad to run a museum in a small village just outside Bury St Edmonds she applies, not really expecting to get the job. The trustees are impressed by her modern ideas and decide to appoint her to the role. Soon, she is moving into the village and starting her new life.
Everyone is really welcoming, from Dr Edward Russell to her new employees Gladys and Lucy. Everything is not as it seems though as Gladys firmly believes that she should have been appointed to the role, both because she had been there for such a long time, and because she needs to be able to continue in her illegal scheme to make copies of the items in the museum and sell the originals. It's a lucrative scheme and with Violet spending so much time listing the pieces, reorganising and making big plans for new displays, Gladys needs to come up with a new plan, and quickly.
Dr Russell previously ran the museum in addition to his role as a doctor in the community but he knows that this cannot continue due to his increased responsibilities thanks to the introduction of the National Health Scheme (NHS). He therefore reverts to his primary role as trustee but is open and available to assist Violet however he can. He isn't sure though why he doesn't let Violet know that he is engaged to the local district nurse, which makes their growing attraction problematic on a number of levels.
As Violet works very hard to set up her new life, get the museum running in the way that she would like it, and try and ignore her growing feelings for the doctor, is it any wonder that she doesn't see the signs that she is being undermined.
I found the parts of the book where they talk about the establishment of the NHS extremely interesting It was a major change and had implications in Australia where we had a similar scheme for universal health care introduced, and both are still in place.
I did find there were times when there was too much focus on the plotting and scheming, and it was all very black and white.
I did like the secondary romances, although one of them came out of the blue, but did enable the rest of the story to progress. My favourite secondary character in the book was Lucy, who was basically the admin at the museum and she showed a lot of initiative and desire to learn more!
This is the third book in the Three Sisters trilogy and I said yes to this tour knowing that I hadn't read the previous two. All we really know is that one of her sisters now lives in France and the other in Jersey, so it doesn't really impact on the enjoyment. I am definitely tempted to add both of them to my TBR pile. Some of her other series look interesting as well.
I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher and Rachel's Random Resources for the review copy.
Rating 3.5/5
The Woven Lie
The Woven Lie is Violet’s story
Suffolk, 1948
When Violet Hammond sees an advertisement for a manager to run a museum in a village outside Bury St Edmunds, she jumps at the chance of a job that sounds both different and a challenge.
For Dr Edward Russell, forced to resign from managing the museum owing to the increasing pressures on him as a doctor, the person to succeed him is obvious – the highly competent Gladys Wilson. After all, Gladys had worked at the museum for years and had run it on her own on many occasions.
But when Edward interviews Violet, he’s excited by her enthusiasm and ideas for modernising the museum and her vitality, and he finds himself offering her the position. With a smile on her face and the right words on her lips, Gladys assures Edward that she’ll support Violet as much as she can.
But Gladys has no intention of doing so. On the contrary, she wants Violet to be sacked as soon as possible. She has too much to lose if Violet stays.
Purchase Link - mybook.to/TheWovenLie
About the Author
Born in London, Liz Harris graduated from university with a Law degree, and then moved to California, where she led a varied life, from waitressing on Sunset Strip to working as secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company.
Six years later, she returned to London and completed a degree in English, after which she taught secondary school pupils, first in Berkshire, then in Cheshire and finally in Oxfordshire.
In addition to the twenty-one novels she’s had published since her debut novel The Road Back, Liz has had several short stories in anthologies and magazines.
Liz lives in Windsor, Berkshire. An active member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Historical Novel Society, her interests are travel, the theatre, reading and cryptic crosswords.
To find out more about Liz, visit her website at https://lizharrisauthor.com
Social Media Links –
Twitter Handle: @lizharrisauthor
Bluesky handle: @lizharris.bsky.social
Instagram Handle: liz.harris.52206
Website: https://lizharrisauthor.com
Facebook: Liz Harris
No comments:
Post a Comment