Mulligan's Yard Book

James Mulligan is a good man. When his father wins a house, land and several businesses in a card game, James resolves to return them to their rightful owners--Louisa Burton-Massey and her three beautiful daughters. But after his father's death, he can't just give the property back--there are too many debts for that--so he endeavours to turn them into a profitable offering before handing them over. Things don't go as smoothly as he hopes. The Burton-Masseys are an unpredictable lot and one of them in particular causes his heart to lurch about like a marionette. Plus James is not all he seems; once, sometimes twice a day, he descends into the cellar of his house and locks himself in, away from the prying eyes of his servants. Here he keeps "the evidence of his sinful soul"--a secret to which he returns day in day out, a secret so dark he can't share it with anyone. Mulligan's Yard is crammed with quirky, memorable characters who bring 1920s Bolton to life. Tilly and Mona Walsh, the two prattling washerwomen; Diane Hewitt, a bright, light-fingered ragamuffin who steals to feed her bed-bound grandmother and her rickets-ridden brother; Peter Wilkinson, a respected local pastor with an ugly skeleton in his closet. Ruth Hamilton is the bestselling author of 12 novels, including Whisper to the Living, The Dream Sellers and The Corner House. Like these earlier novels, Mulligan's Yard is set in the northwest of England, where Hamilton was born. An immensely readable, companionable book, it'll be a sure-fire hit with Catherine Cookson fans. --Jane HoneyRead More