Impact

A Relative Invasion #3

by Rosalind Minett

Book 3 of the trilogy, A Relative Invasion. Who could predict the explosive climax within the Wilson family? In 1945, with evacuation over, Bill must face the austerity of home in post-war London, heart-rending miles from his loving foster billet. Worse, invasive cousin Kenneth will live with him. Adolescent tensions simmer as the two develop different talents. Everything Bill has, Kenneth grasps... until one reach too far into Bill's psychological territory. There's a fearful climax with dreadful consequences for everyone around them. Reaching adulthood, can Bill find an honourable resolution, or will Kenneth always be a threat?

374 pages, ebook

Published January 27, 2017

About the author

A chartered psychologist in my other life, I enjoy writing about ordinary people in unusual situations, or unusual people struggling to fit in. My style is light, but even in humorous stories, there is always a dark edge.

Historical fiction: a trilogy set in WWII told from the perspective of a young boy. A Relative Invasion. Book 1, Intrusion, Book 2 Infiltration out in paperback and ebooks. Amazon Ratings 4.8 and 5.0 . Book 3 Impact to follow late 2016.

My collection of ironic short stories, Me-Time Tales: Tea-breaks for mature women and curious men, is available in paperback and e books. New edition, April 28th 2016.

Crime Shorts, a series. No. 1, updated, new cover. A boy with potential, no. 2, Homed, no. 3 Not Her Fault. Kindle only.

Two other novels (psychological dramas) are in the editing stage.

My other interests are Fine Art, Architecture, Dance and my hobby is sculpture. There's a similarity between creating characters in writing and creating forms in three dimensions or ‘cutting them down to size’.

The avatar stands instead of an author headshot. It saucily re-works Picasso's girl to show a word processor rather than a mirror. The two faces represent my serious and irreverent sides, the observer/recorder and the internal/external selves.

On Amazon I review literary and historical fiction, world literature in translation, children's books and some non-fiction. No dystopia, vampire, chicklit. When I like something, I take trouble to promote it.

I have two blogs: the quirky Me-Time Tales, and characterfulwriter, about the process of writing, where I also review.

http://fictionalcharacterswriting.blo... and http://characterfulwriter.com

Reviews

[Ted Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved all three of these books. I studied World War II so much throughout my life, but I had never learned much about what life was like for regular folk back home in England during the war. This series not only taught me so much about that, and in a way that felt so genuine, but it did so from the perspective of a child living through it all. The author does a splendid job with depth of character and we truly get to know each and every person in the story, and we care about them and want to know what happens next. I really wish more people would learn about this series--it's a great read.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG.. I hated Kenneth.

I can "understand" that Bill couldn't spend all his time trying to make people see Kenneth for the bully that he really was but why didn't the parents and friends ever catch on to the behaviour?

Post-war England was difficult and families aren't always as happy and functional as they appear.

[M.A. McRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this whole story some years back, and it was a pleasure to revisit it. There are several things to commend. First, History. The world of post WW2 Britain sounds so genuine, as if the author had lived it. (She is obviously not old enough for that.) Second: The writing is superb. And third - the best aspect is the way the author understands and conveys emotion, even twisted, conflicting emotions. There is unfairness and there is heartbreak. And there is a going forward. This is a brilliant book.

[Catherine Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent finale to the trilogy. Easy to read, informative and gripping! Great stuff!

[Don Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Is Good Reading

After I had read book 2 in this trilogy I immediately picked up book 3. There are some very interesting twists in this volume - ones that will keep the reader engaged and reading until the story is finished.

[Debbie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, hard to know how to review this without giving away any of the plot details, so I'll avoid them altogether and just implore you to read this book - and the first two in the series if you haven't already read them - for a compassionate, incisive, intelligent and deeply moving saga of different kinds of conflict, both of the impact of World War II and of inter-familial jealousies on the lives of ordinary people. I found all three books in this trilogy very hard to put down, and the final resolution artistically perfect. Highly recommended, whether or not you usually read historical fiction, because although this is a very evocative period piece from the start of the war to the final recovery in the 1950s, its messages are relevant and powerful for the modern world too. A tour de force.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was perhaps the best of the three. It kept me interested from the beginning. I thought the author has done a good job of creating a sympathetic character in Bill (Billy). And the author did a good job in making Bill's immediate family to be unlikable characters. I did find it somewhat unbelievable that Bill's parents would be so shallow as to care more for the good-looking talented cousin than they did for their own child. The parents came across as pretty much unfeeling toward Bill. They never believed him, but preferred to believe that his cousin could do no wrong.
Of course, from the very first book when the Russian sabre was introduced and Billy came to believe that this sabre was some sort of protection, even if it was only in his own mind, the reader had to know that no good would come from Bill's obsession with it.
Kenneth, Bill's cousin, was another unlikable character and even though he ended up being horribly maimed by the sword, he remained for me an unsympathetic character. Of course, we only see Kenneth through Bill's eyes, so perhaps our impression is skewed. But it seemed that Bill was much more changed by the events brought about by Kenneth's and Bill's fight over the sabre and the accidental maiming of Kenneth as a result.
For much of the time after Bill leaves reform school and goes to live with the friends who owned the sabre. But there is the constant presence of a sense of dread over what price Kenneth will ask him to pay as recompense for what Bill did to him. Kenneth's parents never changed in their attitude toward their own son. They even turned Bill's grandparents against him and everyone believed that Bill was consumed with jealousy(who wouldn't be? He was just a child.)and this is why he maimed Kenneth with the sabre.
I thought the ending was kind of lame. We are given a big build up about what Kenneth is going to extract from Bill for vengeance and then Kenneth decided to have Bill do a bunch of photographs of him for free. I guess he wanted to impress upon Bill just how badly he had hurt Kenneth. It just seemed like a less than the spectacular recompense that Bill had been expecting for most of the book.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The war in Europe is finally at an end. Those who have been evacuated are now returning home. For Billy this is something he has mixed feelings about. He has loved living in the country & the people he has been with, but being back in his own home, with his own family is something everyone has been waiting for wasn't it?

Part of Billy's misgivings have to do with the fact his Aunt & cousin Kenneth will also be moving in. He & Kenneth have nothing in common. Kenneth's golden curls, pure singing voice & ingratiating manners endear him to every adult he meets. They don't know about his mean ways & ability to make sure he always gets what he wants.

As the boys grow older they do not grow closer. A tragic accident changes both their lives forever. Billy has to rely on his inner strength to get through his teenage years.

This is the third in a trilogy. I hadn't read the others & that did not spoil my enjoyment of it. Often stories of the war focus on working class families but this was a more middle class cast of characters. It showed the outlook & priorities of this family which I thought were dreadful. Billy was a lovely character & I was glad he had some 'family' behind him even if he wasn't connected by blood. I really enjoyed this book.

[Chris Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is certainly aptly named with the events of this book having a huge impact on the lives of the characters within. We’ve followed Bill and Kenneth as they have grown older through the first two books of the series seeing how the second world war has affected their lives. It’s the way Kenneth in particular that has affected Bill’s life that forms the cornerstone of the story though. This novel is a worthy, and fitting, finale to the trilogy with the author displaying all her talent and skill as she weaves the story of the boys’ lives as they return home after the end of the war. The understanding of people and their emotional makeup elevates this, and the previous books of the series, to the great heights it reaches.

[jerry Cursons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read all three books in the series and found them interesting. Fealty sorry for Billy's life and joy as he over came his adversatea. Living with strangers as a vacuee. Then finding in them a family and friends which he deserved. So many children must of gone through similar events at this time in WW2. It would be nice to hear how Bill,s and Kenneth's life continues after bill's years in national service. Did he achieve his goal in his chosen career and life in the place he came to love with the people who loved him.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and interesting but strangely depressing with a pervading sense of dread. I couldn’t stand how Kenneth, obviously a sociopath, was making poor Bill’s life a nightmare, abetted by his cold, unfeeling parents, and how Kenneth kept getting away with his behaviour. I hope if there is a sequel that those who have been fooled by Kenneth’s manipulations will finally see the light and receive their comeuppance and that Bill will move far away and escape his evil family.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this book but, for me, the expressions of the time were a bit too forced. I know it was a different time and people had different morals but Bill just seemed like a dog that was happy to be kicked by his family and would have tolerated any unkindness

[Helen Hollick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has received a Discovering Diamonds Review:
' Impact provides a reminder for my generation (I was born in 1941) of how different life was in those distant, mid-twentieth century, days. For younger readers it offers valuable insights into the hardships and sacrifices their grandparents made in order to create the many social and educational advantages they enjoy.'
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs

[Debs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It’s so well written that I found myself getting angry/sad/optimistic and when a book does that you know it’s a “good ‘un”
I haven’t read the others in this series but I thoroughly enjoyed it on its own - have ordered the others immediately!