It’s far too long since I featured Annie Murray on Linda’s Book Bag. Then I was reviewing her Letter From A Tea Garden under her pen name of Abi Oliver in a post you’ll find here. This time, however, I’m delighted to share my review of Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls and would like to extend my grateful thanks to Chloe Davies at Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy in return for an honest review.

Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls is out from Pan Macmillan in paperback on 11th April 2024 and is available for pre-order here.

Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls

1946: The war might be over but for the Gilby family there are still battles to be fought at home . . .

For Birmingham and the Gilby family the war years have been a time of great change. With her husband having left her for another woman, Ann Gilby is finally free to follow her heart. While the neighbours may be scandalized by having a divorcee in their midst, Ann is determined to rise above the local gossip and make a happy home with her former sweetheart, the father of Ann’s youngest child.

Meanwhile daughters Joy and Sheila are lucky enough to have their menfolk back home, but Joy’s husband has returned from his experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp a broken man.

Then there’s Ann’s son, Martin, who is still coming to terms with learning who his real father is, as well as having secrets of his own . . .

My Review of Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls

World War Two is finally over.

I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this book. Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls is not just a really captivating story that is incredibly entertaining, but it is a well researched and deftly executed insight into the society of the historical setting, with sexuality, health, divorce and family so sensitively explored that there is much, much more than a physical homecoming for some of Annie Murray’s characters as they come to terms with their experiences and who or what they have become.

Although Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls is the concluding part of a series, at no time is the reader at a disadvantage because the histories of the characters are woven in effortlessly. It’s quite hard to define, but I felt this was a proper story. There’s such skill in Annie Murray’s writing as she leads her readers through events alongside her characters. Brilliantly researched for its historical accuracy and context, the narrative is absorbing, drawing in the reader and ending by making them feel they have been fabulously entertained by real people. Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls would make a brilliant television series because it is episodic, pacy and interesting.

I loved the dynamics between the characters. Alan’s damaged mental health following his WW2 experiences felt especially poignant given that our modern world seems determined to plunge itself back into global conflict. Annie Murray deals with difficulty in her story with sensitivity and compassion. She also balances light and shade so perfectly that I found Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls made me immensely sad and wonderfully uplifted. Alongside highly dramatic aspects there are quieter, more prosaic moments of ordinary life that make the narrative all the more engaging, because they lend authenticity. 

I think what works so well is that all the characters, even the fairly sanguine and steady Tom, are so human. They are messy, foolish, strong, principled, reckless, petty and forgiving so that it feels as if all life is here. Add in themes such as those of guilt, betrayal, mental and physical health, family, identity and self-acceptance and this is a story with an aspect for any reader to relate to so that it reverberates long after it is read. 

I thought Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls was excellent. It’s a riveting story, skilfully told without recourse to saccharine sentimentality so that it has emotional impact and resonance. I don’t often read sagas, but Annie Murray has persuaded me that I’m really missing out! 

About Annie Murray

Annie Murray was born in Berkshire and read English at St John’s College, Oxford. Her first ‘Birmingham’ novel, Birmingham Rose, hit The Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has subsequently written many other successful novels, including The Bells of Bournville Green, sequel to the bestselling Chocolate Girls, Sisters of Gold and Black Country Orphan. Annie has four children and lives just south of Oxford. She also writes as Abi Oliver.

You can follow Annie on Twitter/X @AnnieMurray085 and visit her website for more details. You’ll also find Annie on Facebook and Instagram.