The Girls From Mersey View (Andrews Lyn); Headline, 2021

Liverpool, 1935. Monica and Joan Copperfield are firm friends. Monica dreams of a better life as a hairdresser - though her parents are suspicious of such a glamorous profession. Joan has her eye on a job at Crawford's biscuit factory, with cheap chocolate biscuits as an irresistible perk.

When Monica catches the eye of her boss's son, she's flattered. But could he ever be serious about a back-street girl? Meanwhile Glaswegian Jim is keen on Joan - but she's grown up around a bad marriage, and is suspicious of romance. Yet Jim's kindness and sense of humour are hard to resist . . .

Shocking secrets, lifelong friendships and the unbreakable spirit of a working-class community facing war are woven irresistibly together in Lyn Andrews' evocative novel.