Elsie’s Place by Kerrie Paterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a beautiful, heart-warming read about three women who find love, support and friendship in an unlikely place. Strangers brought together during the renovation of Elsie’s Place, a run-down historical property Patricia has inherited, each woman has a hurt or hurdle to overcome. A hard-working single mother, a career woman with a desperate wish and a school principal recovering on stress leave – none of them could ever have forseen that a house renovation would make them rethink the direction their lives are taking. A wonderful, well-written story about love and forgiveness, discovery and secrets, with the underlying message that friendship does more than just bring people together. It has the potential to create a family. An excellent read I’d highly recommend.
A Grand Design style renovation – with a literal skeleton in the closet.
Sixty-year-old widowed school principal Patricia inherits a run-down, historic house in Newcastle, NSW, from Elsie, an old lady she’d befriended.
On leave following a distressing incident at her school, Pat throws herself into restoring the house with the help of new friends – architect Susan, whose longing for a child threatens her marriage, and Lauren, a single mum stubbornly sacrificing her dreams of self-employment for the security of a nine-to-five job. Attraction flares between Pat and Andy, the historic restoration expert she hires.
While menacing phone calls and destructive break-ins threaten to derail the restoration project, a shocking discovery causes repercussions no-one could have foreseen.
Caught between the needs of her mother ravaged by dementia and the demands of her adult children, Pat must learn to put herself first to salvage both her new life and her new love.
Small Town Fiction 