The Cuckoo Child

by Katie Flynn

When Dot McCann, playing relievio with her pals, decides to hide in Butcher Rathbone's almost empty dustbin, she overhears a conversation that could send one man to prison and the other to the gallows - and suddenly finds herself in possession of stolen goods.

Dot lives with her aunt and uncle, the cuckoo in the nest, abandoned to these relatives after her parents died. She feels alone...until she meets up with Corky who has run away from a London orphanage. They join forces with Emma, whose jeweller's shop has been burgled, and with Nick, a handsome young newspaper reporter who is investigating the crime. The four of the begin to plot to catch the thieves.

But Dot and Emma have been recognised, and soon both are in very real danger...

Set in Liverpool in the 1920s The Cuckoo Child is vintage Katie Flynn.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

436 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Katie Flynn was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School, where she was extremely happy and extremely undistinguished. Published at the tender age of eight, in Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories, she joined a Writers’ Circle as an adult, publishing short stories, articles, etc; only turning to novels in 1971 because the postal strike cut off her main source of income!
At first she wrote under several different names – Judith Saxton, Judy Turner, Lydia Balmain, Judith Arden – but her Katie Flynn books were a delight to write and proved far more popular than she had dreamed. She has now published nearly ninety novels, twenty-seven of which are Flynns. Her most recent titles are: Lost Days of Summer and Christmas Wishes.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this fun romp of a historical novel. A mix of adventure, mystery, romance, and orphans making a better life for themselves. The plot was solid and the characters are all active participants in creating their destiny, not passively letting things happen to them. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator does the different characters and accents really well. Combined with writing true to how people would have spoken, it made for an immersive experience.

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lol, did Katie Flynn really write this book for pre-teens because it reminded me of the Enid Blyton Famous Five books I read when I was between 10-12 years old? The book was not up to her usual adult standard, though the storyline did get more suspenseful at the end.

[Grace Canfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book fairly quickly, I do feel it is targeted at a younger age group but it was left for other people to read. Its plot is interesting and the ultimate ending is great however it took a lot of getting into.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, with an element of being in the right (or wrong) place and a dose of suspense too.

[Sam Rae · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rubbish.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a refreshing read! No swear words or sex needed to tell this story of a robbery of jeweller’s shop and the consequences.

[Marie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Gloria Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a hard story to get into But I did read it right the way through to the end

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book. one of my favourites by Katie I have read this about 4 times, will update to kindle version.

[Linda Leedham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting enough story. But to me it was more of a story for young people like teenagers. Not really my style of book to read. Not enough suspense

[Audrey Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating story with great historical details.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thrilling family saga. I was hooked a real page turner and this was a real paperback book. A really good read

[Lesleigh Longhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a great read

[Mrs Emma S Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cuckoo child, was an easy to read book, which had twists and turns to inspire me to keep turning the pages.

[M. Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many of books do, it starts slow and gets exciting on the end. Still, I loved the build up but it's like written for kids or if not, for teens.

[Laura Forster · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit too predictable for my taste, but an easy read

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like an easy read. Not too taxing on the brain and straight into some action. No boring introductions. Based in 1920's Liverpool. Not too keen on the title. I feel the author could have thought up something more interesting or something to do with the actual plot but apart from that, very enjoyable.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap. Avoid.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice easy read by this author.

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very easy light read. Perfect for bedtime reading.

[Shee McEachran]

THE CUCKOO CHILD

It was a superb read...and it was hard to put down..I quite like this author and the way she wrutes..My type of read xx