Arrow Books Such Sweet Sorrow Flynn Katie

Liverpool, 1939: Sixteen-year-old Lizzy Atherton is forced to flee her violent step-father in the middle of the night, and finds herself stranded on a station platform completely alone • Desperate to know what has become of her beloved mother, who she had no choice but to leave behind, Lizzy returns the next day only to find her home deserted. Devastated, Lizzy joins forces with her old school friend Dolly and Clara, an escaped evacuee, and vows to find her mother whatever it takes • But the war rages on and demands on the home front take Lizzy's life in a host of unexpected directions, and hopes of finding her mother gradually start to fade • If Lizzy can muster the strength to keep searching, she might just get her Christmas wish after all

1913 • Seventeen-year-old Evie Murphy has chosen to leave behind her native Ireland for the city of Liverpool. She takes her baby daughter Linnet with her, but leaves behind her child’s frail twin, Lucy. A decision that will change their lives for ever • 1924 • When tragedy strikes, Linnet is left destitute and alone, disappearing into the unforgiving Liverpool slums. Meanwhile, Lucy is desperate to find her sister but is she willing to leave behind the beautiful Irish countryside where she has grown up • With uncertain times ahead, will the sisters ever be reunited . . . ?

Liverpool 1939: Olivia Campbell appears to have the perfect life. However, behind closed doors she lives in constant fear of her abusive father, and has no support from her mother • Longing for love and affection she begins a relationship with Ted, a young lad who works in her father's factory. But her family disapprove of the relationship and forbid them from seeing each other • When war comes to Liverpool, Olivia seizes the opportunity to leave behind her unhappy life and join the WAAF. There she meets a fellow trainee, Maude and the two embrace their newly found independence. Soon Olivia meets the handsome Ralph, and all thoughts of Ted are brushed aside. Until he returns to her life with some shocking news that turns her world upside down

Liverpool, 1923 • Lizzie is an orphan living with her Aunt Annie, Uncle Perce and two boy cousins in Cranberry Court, within a stone's throw of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Lizzie loves her aunt but is hated by her uncle and escapes whenever she can • She makes friends with Geoff Gardiner, another orphan, and is teaching him to swim in the Scaldy when Clem Gilligan rescues the pair of them from drowning. Clem works on the Canal boat, The Liverpool Rose, with Jake Pridmore and his wife, plying between the great cities of Leeds and Liverpool • But Lizzie's situation at home starts to worsen as her uncle grows surlier and more violent. Eventually the worst happens and Lizzie is forced to flee from the Court or risk serious injury, perhaps even death

Liverpool, 1940 • When war comes to Britain, Jessica Wilson and her friend Ruby seize the opportunity to leave behind the orphanage they grew up in and start new lives in the NAAFI. With only forged papers as identification the girls expect to be turned away but are delighted with an offer of work • For the first time in their lives they experience real independence and it isn't long before they're spending their evenings enjoying the delights of Liverpool • When Jessica meets the handsome Tom, she feels as though her life is complete, but after a chance encounter with a friend, she soon learns that not everything is as it seems • As Jessica begins to uncover the truth, she unravels a web of lies, starting with the night of her birth, and she will need the support of her friends if she is to get her Christmas wish

It takes courage to overcome the odds • Liverpool 1928: abandoned by her mother at a very young age, Dot McCann lives a lonely life with her distant aunt and uncle. A cuckoo in the nest, she spends her days trying to keep out of trouble • When Dot overhears a conversation whilst playing in the street, her life changes for ever. What she discovers could send one man to prison and another to the gallows. In a desperate attempt to right a wrong, Dot teams up with runaway orphan Corky, Emma, a local jeweller whose shop has been burgled, and Nick, a handsome young reporter investigating the crime • But Dot and Emma have been recognised and they soon find themselves in very real danger. Will they uncover the truth before it’s too late?

Will she find love in her wartime home? • 1939. All over Britain children are being evacuated, and Eve Armstrong is headed for Devon. As the train pulls out of London she takes a last look at the crowded platform, the shabbily dressed evacuees, and a rude little boy sticking his tongue out. She’s looking forward to a change of scene • And at first Eve is happier than ever at Drake’s Farm. Not even her daily chores dampen her spirits. It’s a different world that invites fresh starts, and so when Eve runs into the boy from the station, Johnny Durrell, they call a truce and soon become firm friends • The war might be a distant reality, but the arrival of new evacuee Connie Hale makes every day a battle. Connie is lazy, stuck up and spiteful – and Johnny’s new best friend

In the tragedy of war, will love conquer all? • Liverpool, 1940 • When nurses Nancy Kerris and Jess Williams both lose their lovers in the trenches during the Great War, their future in Liverpool looks bleak. As the war finally ends, their lives are set on different paths, with Nancy choosing to marry an Australian, leaving behind her life - and her friend - for the Outback • Years later with the outbreak of the Second World War, Nancy's son Pete decides to join the Royal Air Force and as such travels to England. He promises to pay his mother's friend a visit, however when he arrives in Liverpool, he is dismayed to find half the city has been demolished by the May Blitz. Jess's home has been destroyed, and even worse, her daughter Debbie is missing

Can she hold on to hope? • Liverpool, 1937 • When Miranda awakes one morning to find her mother has disappeared, her life is about to change forever. She raises the alarm amongst the locals, but her mother's whereabouts remains a mystery • With nowhere else to turn, Miranda is forced to live with her aunt and cousin, who resent her presence and treat her badly. She struggles to hold onto hope until she meets Steve, a neighbour who promises to help her in her search - until war intervenes • Miranda will never forget the past, but can she find the courage to open her heart and forge the future she deserves? • A classic Katie Flynn story of tragedy, triumph and love from the Sunday Times bestselling author

From the Sunday Times bestselling author Katie Flynn. Three girls, evacuated from Liverpool during World War Two, support each other through hardship and heartbreak • It’s 1939, and three ten-year-old girls meet on a station platform • Imogen, Rita and Debby all missed the original evacuation and now the authorities are finding it difficult to place them. When Auntie and her niece, Jill, who run the Canary and Linnet Public House, offer to take them in, the billeting officer is greatly relieved • The countryside is heaven to the three little townies, especially after they meet Woody and Josh, also evacuees. They find that by climbing to the top of the biggest tree in the beech wood they have a perfect bird’s-eye view of the nearest RAF station and are able to watch the comings and goings of the young fighter pilots as the Battle of Britain rages

The fourth and final novel in the Neylor Quartet, by Sunday Times bestselling author Katie Flynn, writing as Judith Saxton • Hitler's war is reaching out to affect every member of the Neylor family • Val Neylor, driving an ambulance through the blazing heart of London, is in an impossible position, for the man she loves is a fighter pilot with the Luftwaffe. And Jenny, whose husband Simon is flying Spitfires, finds herself working as a landgirl on a Devon farm • Cara, by contrast, develops her social life, and Maudie, in the WAAF, falls in love with two men at once ... And Tina, matriarch of the family loves them all, scolds them all, and tries to understand the new generation growing up in the troubled times of war • A warm and moving family saga set in Britain caught in the torment of the Second World War