Mersey View

by Ruth Hamilton

At the age of 45, Lucy Henshaw has finally left home. Her decision to go has been reached neither lightly nor suddenly, since her marriage has been broken for some 18 years. However, as the mother of twin sons and a daughter, Lucy has felt it her duty to stay as a couple in the family house she was born in near Bolton, giving her children the security she knows they need. Now that her family is grown, content in the knowledge that she loves them, Lucy decides she is free to leave. She secretly purchases a beautiful house overlooking the Mersey, near Liverpool, and there she plans to start afresh. Within hours, she has met some characters: her new neighbor Moira, who is disabled and dying, and sees Lucy as the ideal new companion for her husband, Richard; Shirley Bishop, built like a battleship and a cleaner extraordinaire, towing her several-inches-shorter husband as a handy gardener behind her; and Dr. David Vincent, who is grieving for the loss of his young son. It is soon apparent that Lucy need have no anxieties about being lonely. It is these new friends, too, who come to Lucy’s rescue when her husband Alan, falls ill. Always a wastrel and fraudster who has tried to control her, his illness only seems to offer him another opportunity to complicate Lucy's life all over again.

416 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2010

About the author

Ruth Hamilton was one of North West England's most popular writers. She was the bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including Spinning Jenny, The Bells of Scotland Road, Mulligan's Yard, Mersey View and That Liverpool Girl. She was born in Bolton, which is the setting for many of her novels, and spent most of her life in Lancashire.

(source: http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/ru...)

Reviews

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how the different characters came together and made a interesting mix personalities a charming and lovely book

[Paul Webster]

We enjoyed this little read but wondered why and how the author was so bizarrely obsessed with sex. All the way through to the end it seemed it had been written by an adolescent female teen who had sexual fantasies with every encounter she had. By the time the story ended we were just over it. It became tiresome as we realised that around every innocent corner was laid a very unlikely sexual encounter which was completely unrealistic. We won't bother with other titles with same author.

[Sue Hickling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story really enjoyed it .🙂

[Pat Raab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story line and good character building. I loved the humour - giggled all the way through; and then there were the sad bits ...

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a great story about rebuilding- it speaks to the inner strength in us all. the men of the story are pretty much jerks thru out and get what they deserve. The descriptions are lovely and you can almost picture the scenes. I really enjoyed reading this- good plot, decent ending.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters, main character Lucy, holds all of family together. Second Ruth Hamilton I've read.