#Bookreview for Changing Patterns by Judith Barrow @barrow_judith #WWII #drama

I read the first part of this trilogy so long ago I wondered if I’d pick up the threads but Barrow does a masterful job of trickling in just enough information to Changing Patterns to enable you to feel as though you have picked up the characters right where you left them.

This book starts with a tragedy which brings the remaining family and friends back together with Mary and Peter. I loved Mary, right from the start, she is drawn reluctantly into having to deal with everyone else’s problems while actually wanting and needing time to deal with her own.

Mary and Peter were my favourite couple. Peter, a German ex POW, steady and quiet and I so much wanted things to turn out well for them. It is difficult to imagine, when reading this from the luxury of distance of time, how difficult it must have been for their relationship to succeed straight after the war. The hostility they must have faced.

What Barrow does so well is write characters and settings, I mustn’t forget those as they are wonderful! The storylines keep you turning the pages as well as shadows from the past come back to haunt the present and I fear will continue to cause problems in the future. In fact, reading her work is endlessly pleasurable and you are whisked back to this period with every lovingly written syllable.

I highly recommend this series for all who love to bury themselves in an authentically told and expertly crafted tale. I immediately downloaded the next one, which tells you all you need to know.

If you want to take a look at many more reviews, here are the links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

I reviewed the first in the trilogy, Pattern of Shadows, here.