The Air Raid Book Club(94)

Love and gratitude to my fellow writers who are always generous with their support and wise with their advice, especially Celia Anderson, Kerry Barrett, Laurie Ellingham, Fiona Harper, Kerry Fisher, Ruth Hogan, Andi Michael, Helen Phifer, and Lisa Timoney.

Thank you to the booksellers, librarians, and online community who tirelessly read, review, and share their love for stories and reading. This book is inspired by your passion.

Special thanks to Jenna Bahen (@flowersfavouritefiction), who is kind, generous, and has been an incredible cheerleader for my books among the Bookstagram community.

Thank you to my friends who encourage, support, and cheer me every step of the way. To Carol for the blackberry jam, lychee martinis, and trips to author talks; to Jan for all the chats and laughs on and off the tennis court; to Melissa for daily Wordles, kindness, and excellent cultural recommendations; to Nick, Becs, Eva, and James for all their love (cheersn); to Julia for kind words and laughter; to Helen (and Kobe) for head-clearing dog walks in all weathers; to Gill, who believed in me from the day she read my first book nearly a decade ago; to Pammie and Rip for games of Perudo and kindness; to Sal for plot walks and excellent taste in wine; to Sarah for always sending me a message when I need it most and, more importantly, for taking the time to tell me about her family’s experience of fleeing Germany in the 1930s.

All my love and gratitude to my dear friend Helen Abbott, who died in June 2022, just as I was finishing this book. She gave me endless encouragement with my writing over the years, and I am proud to dedicate this book to her memory.

Heartfelt thanks to my late parents, Margaret and Graham, who gifted me a lifelong love of books and reading.

A final huge note of thanks to my favorite people—Rich, Lil, and Alfie—for the love, laughter, and countless episodes of Taskmaster and Better Call Saul. And thanks to Nelson for all the plot walks.





About the Author




After a career in bookselling and publishing, ANNIE LYONS published numerous books in the UK and The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett in the US. When not working on her novels, she teaches creative writing. She lives in south-east London with her husband

and two children.

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