In equal measure gritty and tender, Coming Home to the Four Streets is the latest instalment in the Four Streets saga, from Sunday Times bestseller Nadine Dorries.
Trouble is coming to the four streets, especially for its redoubtable women, who’ve struggled through a bitter winter to put food on the table.
The Dock Queen Carnival is only weeks away, but there’s no money for the usual celebrations. No sign of a tramp ship with illicit cargo to be quietly siphoned off by the dockers.
Peggy Nolan, with seven boys and a husband too lazy to work, has hit rock bottom and is hiding a terrible secret. Little Paddy, her mischievous eldest, is all too often in trouble, but he’d do anything for the mother he loves. How can he save her from selling herself on the streets – or worse?
Maura and Tommy Doherty always looked out for any neighbour in trouble, especially Peggy, but they’re far away, running a pub in Ireland and corrupt copper, Frank the Skank, is moving into their old house on the four streets.
Can anything bring them home in time?
The Four Streets series
- The Four Streets
- Hide Her Name
- The Ballymara Road
- Coming Home to the Four Streets
A Marvellous Tale!
Having read Nadine Dorries’ work previously, I was happy to accept this one onto my list!
The Four Streets is an area in the docks of Liverpool, where no-one has very much in the way of money but community spirit thrives. They rely on goods arriving on ships which can be made to disappear to allow the annual Dock Queen Carnival, but this year there is no sign of the usual tramp ship and there is no extra to be found elsewhere. Maura and Tommy Doherty have gone to Ireland and their neighbour, Peggy Nolan, is barely surviving without their usual help and, even thought they continue to pay rent on their house, there are rumours that a local police officer is to be given the tenancy. Frank the skank isn’t someone any area would want as a neighbour and certainly not the inhabitants of the four streets. They need help – but where will they get it from?
I’m sorry I haven’t managed to read this whole series but, as with any saga from an experienced author, it’s easy to pick up the threads of the story and this was an excellent stand-alone read. You would have to be very hard-hearted indeed not to feel sympathy for the poverty in which parents struggle to instil a sense of pride and citizenship into their families. This is a marvellous tale with plenty going on and all the threads entwine to weave a good solid story which will enthral and entertain. As always with this author, definitely worth a read and one I’m happy to recommend. 4.5*.
My thanks to the publisher for my copy; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.
Tags: historical saga
- Format: ebook, paperback, hardback, audiobook, audio cd
- Size: 327 pages
- Publisher: Head of Zeus
- Publication Date: 04 March 2021
- Book Links:
- https://www.goodreads.com
- https://play.google.com
- https://www.barnesandnoble.com
- https://uk.bookshop.org
- https://www.foyles.co.uk
- https://www.kobo.com
- https://www.whsmith.co.uk
- https://www.waterstones.com
- https://wordery.com
- https://www.amazon.co.uk
Author Details
Nadine Dorries grew up in a working-class family in Liverpool. She spent part of her childhood living on a farm with her grandmother, and attended school in a small remote village in the west of Ireland. She trained as a nurse, then followed with a successful career in which she established and then sold her own business. She has been MP for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005, and is presently serving as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. She has three daughters.
- Website: https://nadinedorries.co.uk/
- Twitter: @NadineDorries
- Facebook: @NadineDorriesAuthor
- Instagram: @NadineDorries
Grace J Reviewerlady 