The Nurses of Lark Lane: Lark Lane 3

The Nurses of Lark Lane is the third book in Lark Lane series. This is a series that is best read in order. It was nice to catch up with Alice, Cathy, Millie, Brian and Granny Lomax. I enjoyed reading Cathy’s story. I admire her for having the goal of becoming a nurse that would allow her to have a different life. Cathy has had a rough time since her father, Terry passed away and Alice (her mother) married Jack Dawson. Alice made a mistake marrying the cheating louse and everyone in the family is having to pay for bad judgement. Cathy was lucky to have Granny Lomax living nearby to give her encouragement and provide a safe haven. The Nurses of Lark Lane is well-written with steady pacing. Once I started reading it, I stayed up late because I wanted to see how the book would end. It is a dramatic and emotional story featuring family drama, friendships, work life and romance. The author captured the era with the clothing, hair styles, make up, movies, slang, and attitudes. The characters are realistic and developed. There are characters that readers will love and those we will dislike intensely (like Jack). I hope that this is not the last book in the series (if it is then I wish the author had provided an epilogue). The Nurses of Lark Lane is a compelling novel with a gentle granny, a sympathetic sibling, the smashed scoundrel, and a motivated young woman.

A story that still is mostly focused on Cathy and her mum Alice: it’s been quiet in their little house with Alice’s husband in hospital after his foot injury during the war resulted in amputation. They aren’t quite living in clover, but without Jack and his abusive behavior and slovenly ways, things are ‘settled’ and everyone is happy. Cathy is getting ready to enter her O Level year – a critical step on her way to becoming a nurse. But, as things happen, Jack is released from the hospital and comes home to cause disruption and discord, sneaking in his girlfriend when Alice is at work and generally terrorizing the household. Cathy is determined to go to nursing school, and with support and often firm talk from her Granny Lomax, her father’s mother, she’s torn between helping out the family and making her own way in the world. She’d given up her O Level plans already, working in cosmetics with her best friend in the large department store in town: and Jack is constantly harassing her for her pay, demanding that she pay her fair share of the expenses, while he uses his money for himself. With a new baby, Alice is not only depressed but she is beaten down, and nothing seems to bring a smile. Cathy is almost at the end of her rope, the only thing keeping her sane is Gianni and their new relationship, until she is accepted into a nurse’s training program at the hospital. She’s soon off for the first of the three years of courses, leaving the home mess behind. Oh this was so typical Hawes in style and form – instantly you have people to cheer or jeer for, to empathize with, and are soon as close to them and their changing fortunes as if you are a neighbor over the garden wall. Post war Britain is still a struggle, although things have improved in the years since the last book ended: and there are plenty of pop-culture references, attitudes and even the dress to feel as if times are changing – and perhaps more quickly than some would like. I’ve loved the two books I’ve read in this series: the characters, their situations and even their struggles are clearly defined and easy to visualize, and caring about them is just like one would for friends. I’m determined to gather all of this author’s books and read them all when I want to get ‘away’ from the world and enter the one she’s created and borrowed from. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.