I have already read the books that make up the Howarth Family Saga Series which I thought were excellent, so I was delighted when I came across this prequel, which was written after the trilogy. You might think it was completed as an after-thought. A ploy by the author to produce yet another story using the same set of characters. But you couldn’t be more wrong. A Hundred Tiny Threads is a richly woven tapestry with each thread pulling together to create the founding of a family. The research has been methodically done, the story tightly plotted but you as the reader see none of the work that has gone into this because you are carried away on a story so realistic you could be standing on those same streets alongside characters real enough to touch.
Winifred Duffy is a young woman dominated by her mother and made to work in the family grocery shop. Her first glimpse of a life beyond her own comes in the form of a friend, Honora, and her brother, Conal. Winifred is soon drawn into the suffrage movement, and closer to Conal. However, when she finds herself alone, she has no option but to return home and face the difficult choices in front of her.
Bill Howarth falls for Winifred after meeting her in town and is determined to marry her, but he has already had a difficult start in life and bad choices make his dream a distant one. The Great War means he is then sent to fight and what he witnesses is beyond what most of us can even begin to imagine.
Beautifully written, this author does not hold back in showing the, at times, shocking brutalities of life and in places, this is a tough read. Certainly, knowing what we know by the end of the story made me uncomfortable about the outcome, but it definitely lays a fabulous foundation for the rest of the series. Or it can simply be read as a superb standalone.
I can’t recommend this series highly enough but start here. Start with the prequel, you won’t be disappointed.
Great review for one of my favorite series ever!
Thank you, and yes, I feel the same about this series.
Thank you for this, Georgia Rose – I couldn’t have wished for a better boost.
You’re welcome 🙂
Thank you so much, Barb, I appreciate your comment. I am so thrilled that Georgia Rose has reviewed A Hundred Tiny Threads – I loved researching and writing this story.
A great review. I have read the first three books and like you, loved them. Now I need to read this one.
Yes, Darlene, you definitely need this one on your list 🙂
Ah, thank you, Darlene. That’s very kind of you.
Thank you so much for the recommendation.