The Secret of Summerhayes by Merryn Allingham

This was the sequel to the book which initially introduced all our characters. Everyone is much older, many have died, WWII has commenced, Summerhayes is now being used as a base for soldiers and still life in this small part of England goes apace. The story winds on at an easy pace. People still have romance, despite odds, the spectre of war looms over all. The ones who are really old still live in anticipation of something good turning up, and it does. Family always an important thread in stories, becomes even more important in this one. Preordained, destiny, karmic forces call it what you will all come to life here. Then we have the darker elements of greed, arrogance, envy, the feeling of superiority of birth that some people can never get quite rid of despite democracy and a steady levelling in society. The final chapter in the Summerhayes story brought all the characters to life and more. It had many very human elements woven into the story and this was delightful. Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.