Hold My Hand by Serena Mackesy
It was the answer to their prayers: a cash-in-hand residential job in the country, in a place where no one would know them. To Bridget Sweeny and her daughter it meant a fresh start, with new names and hope for the future. But Rospetroc House, the manor house Bridget has agreed to caretake, has its own secrets: a history of high staff turnover and a reputation in the village, and it's not long before she begins to feel uneasy. Rising star Serena Mackesy's new novel tells intertwining tales of Lily, a nine-year-old East End child evacuated during the Great War and left in the unwelcoming arms of the dysfunctional Blakemore family, and of Bridget Sweeny and little Yasmin, who have their own urgent reasons for leaving London. This title presents the lives of the three connect across the decades in a chilling tale of murder and revenge on Bodmin Moor. Praise for Serena Mackesy: 'Brilliantly observed...a gripping read' - "The Times". 'Fresh, sparky, funny and sadly poignant' - "Big Issue". 'Perhaps the biggest gasp since A Kiss Before Dying...say no more, except - More!' - "Independent".