Queen of the Mersey — Maureen Lee

Liverpool, 1939. The Second World War is about to start when pretty Laura Oliver meets Queenie Todd. Laura is twenty-one and happily married to dashing Roddy. At 14, Queenie lacks Laura's confidence, and has been deserted by her good-time mother. The two become good friends, along with big-hearted Vera Monoghan across the street. When the air raids begin, the older women trust Queenie sufficiently to put their small daughters, Hester and Mary, into her care, and the three young people are evacuated to Caerdovey, a small town on the coast of Wales. At first, Caerdovey is a haven of peace and quiet - and then something happens, so terrifying that it will haunt them for the rest of their lives.