Always in My Heart

by Pam Weaver

Published by PanMacmillan
Price £6.99 Paperback
ISBN 978-1-4472-7592-3

I do love a well-researched novel and Pam Weaver never disappoints. This story starts away from her usual Sussex setting, in Canning Town – a poor area of London in the 1930s – but moves back to Angmering and Worthing with the evacuation of the city’s children.

To her own experiences in nursing, Pam adds accurate details of East Londoners’ lives and attitudes in the early years of the war. Readers local to Angmering will recognise the places in the tale of twins, Shirley and Tom, billeted with a cruel farmer and his frightened wife. Although most evacuees were placed with appropriate foster parents, it was a horrific experience to be sent away from home, not knowing where they were going or for how long. These two children were the victims of a man who convinced everyone he would treat them well – but then cruel people are always good at fooling others. It’s a gripping storyline that keeps throwing up surprises right to the end.