Lesley Pearse

I look forward every year to a new Lesley Pearse book and I'm never disappointed. Her latest is The Girl With the Suitcase which follows the life of Beth Manning…except Beth isn't quite who she says she is. Just prior to an air raid, Mary Price meets Elizabeth Manning. When Mary is misidentified as Elizabeth, she takes on the latter's identity and a new life in Ireland, which is everything she has always dreamed of.

Like every Lesley Pearse book, there's a strong heroine at the heart of the show more story who overcomes a difficult past or situation to triumph in her life and Beth is no exception so don't think that she sounds like a heartless person. I loved following her from London to Ireland, away from uncertainty and towards a new home and a new set of circumstances. I'd call it a slice of life story as it's set over the course of the Second World War and portrays the fortunes of the main character during that time.

I found this book a delight to read and really looked forward to picking it up. There's a lot of sadness for Beth and some horrible things happened to her but I knew that somehow she would be ok and I absolutely loved the ending. Once again, Pearse pulled me right into a story and put me there with the characters that I so enjoyed spending time with. show less

I know when I pick up a Lesley Pearse book that I will be getting great writing, a clever and thoughtful story, and a cast of interesting characters, including a feisty female. Belle is no exception to this and this book is similar in style to some of the author's strongest works such as Never Look Back, Hope and Charity.

Belle is a 15 year old girl who witnesses a murder and is then snatched off the streets of Seven Dials in London and forced into prostitution, both in France and in America. show more The next two years find Belle in all sorts of situations but her strength and courage carry her through.

Despite there being some points where it seemed a bit far-fetched, this is a fantastic story told by a mistress of storytelling. I loved Belle, who kept fighting back no matter what life threw at her, and I also really liked the other characters such as Mog, Jimmy and Etienne.

It's a long book at almost 600 pages, but I found I got right into it quite early on and then was completely engrossed in and didn't want to put it down. Excellent read and now onto the sequel, The Promise. show less

Back in 1995 I was working in Sheffield city centre. The bookshops were a magnet to me and I visited them several times a week. At the top of the escalator in WHSmith were three chunky books by an author new to me: Lesley Pearse. They immediately caught my eye and I couldn't resist giving them a go. I read Charity first, Lesley's third book, and then went back and read Georgia and Tara. I was absolutely absorbed in the ups and downs (perhaps rather more of the latter) of the eponymous show more characters and went on to devour every book this wonderful author has produced. Now, over thirty years since Georgia was published, Lesley Pearse has written her autobiography and it's instantly clear where so much of her inspiration has come from.

The Long and Winding Road is utterly compelling reading, as gripping as Lesley's novels. It takes us back first of all to the 1940s and the tragic death of her mother. After a stint in an orphanage she was able to return home but the remainder of her childhood was never easy and she escaped as soon as she could. I was astonished at the volume and variety of all the jobs and homes Lesley had. I think she moved more times than I had hot dinners! She was so courageous though, picking herself up and dusting herself down after each setback and letdown, bringing up her family and eventually becoming the bestselling novelist loved by so many readers.

I enjoyed this book so much. It's quite conversational in tone which made it easy to read and it's a tour through the music and fashion of the decades from the point of view of a woman who never let herself be held back. It was so wonderful to read about the life of one of my all-time favourite writers, the heartbreak and the joy, the sadness and the fun, culminating in a beautiful and heartwarming final chapter. It's a fabulous read. show less

Deception is Lesley Pearse's 30th book. What an achievement! She's been a favourite of mine since the beginning and I think that Deception is the best of her most recent books. It has what I love about Pearse's books: the tough upbringing, the family dramas, and a thumping good storyline.

This is a dual-timeline story which opens with Alice on her way to her mother's funeral. When a man approaches her and says he's her real father, Alice is horrified but as she starts to uncover Sally's show more secrets she realises that there was so much that she didn't know. Interspersed with Alice's story in 2015 is that of her mother from childhood onwards. Both threads are absolutely engrossing. I particularly enjoyed how Alice discovered details from her mother's life that she would never have known had she not met that stranger at the funeral. Pearse weaves the two stories together seamlessly and to brilliant effect.

Deception is a book that I didn't want to put down. I raced through it, finding it so easy to read but also gritty and gripping. I liked the social aspects of down-at-heel London, to Bristol and Devon, over the course of 40 or so years. Sally had quite a life and it made for fascinating reading.

Once again, Lesley Pearse has produced a page-turner of a book with strong female protagonists who have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get on with it, and a whole range of other enthralling characters which combined to make this a thoroughly absorbing read. I really loved it. show less