Fighting with Shadows

by Beryl Matthews

London, 1949. In the aftermath of the war, Angie Westwood thinks the hard times are behind her. But when her cousin, Jane, dies of heart failure at the tender age of twenty, leaving a three-year-old son and an unresolved mystery over his father's identity, her life changes beyond all expectations.

Angie immediately adopts Danny and decides to bring him up as her own, but she is torn between a desire to trace his father - for the boy's sake - and her fear of losing him to this unknown man.

Concerned about Danny's well-being, Angie takes him to visit John and Hettie Sawyer, whose farm she and Jane were evacuated to during the war. The moment they lay eyes on him it is immediately apparent to the Sawyers who Danny's father is. But should they share this news with Angie? For his identity will be the most enormous shock to her...

496 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 3, 2005

Reviews

[Psammead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the audio version of this book. Good story, well told and it kept you wondering until just before the end. Loved it. Beryl Matthews is a very good story teller.

[Cyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, sweet story

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read other Beryl Matthews and find them lovely easy reads and enjoy them. This one is set after the Second World War surrounding the story of a prisoner of war called Dieter who discovers he fathered a child Danny without his knowledge. Danny had found his mother dead on his birthday and he is now being cared for by his aunt.
It is lovely to see how the story unfolds and how Dieter settles into life in the small village. This read provided a bit of escapism which was very nice.