TONI's Book Club -Scared of Cows' Book - THaR - KM

[DiscoTex]

Just finished this book, read it in 48 hours - I am a bit of a book pig!

Really enjoyed the book, it reminded me of many similar books that I have read in terms of the upstairs downstairs dynamic.The storyline was gripping, and I think the characters were easy to identify with.

Grace's achievements in her long life were surprising, but satisfying, as she was a character who you really enjoy when reading the book. Her empathy and kindness almost seemed too much! Although it sort of pays off for her in the end.

What starts out as just another period drama definitely delivers more as the book progresses, it's hard to put the book down!!

Really please you liked it DiscoTex. It was one of those that initially when I read it, I thought I would end up abandoning it, but I really ended up enjoying it.

I also thought that the book got off to a bit of a slow start and it took me a while to get into it, but I ended up enjoying it more and more. I wanted to keep on reading to find out what had happened on the fateful night, and found the ending very moving. I thought the other revelation (about Grace's parentage) was fairly obvious, however, and had seen it coming at quite an early stage in the book.

All in all, a nice easy read. Switching between the two different periods was quite effective too, although I sometimes found myself impatient to get back to the earlier story.

I had read this book last year and really enjoyed it, but didn't want to read the whole thing again, so I skimmed through, concentrating on the beginning to set the scene and the last third or so. It was really enjoyable, I remember not being able to put it down last year when I read it, and it drew me in again this year. It was clear from the start that events on the night in question were not going to be quite how they had seemed, but I really didn't work it our for myself, however it all made sense when you got to the last few pages and the loose ends were tied up well. I did want to shake Grace and say put yourself first for a change woman once or twice, but then that was the nature of being in service in the 20s. A very satisfying book overall.

I've read this book before but I'd forgotten the story and how it ends so it was good to read it again.

I enjoyed it and liked the whole upstairs / downstairs theme of the book (I'm a bit of a period drama fan) and thought the main character was likeable too. The ending was a little contrived but it had to end somehow I guess. I wonder if she knew how it would end before writing it.