Trouble in Paradise [Hardcover]

Pip Granger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

The end of the Blitz-and the war-does not spell the end of trouble for Londoners....
The end of World War II in Europe spreads joy through London, but for Zelda Fluck the news isn't all good. The end to hostilities will bring her violent husband Charlie home. It also sets off a chain of events that brings more strife and destruction to the people of Paradise Gardens, Hackney - including Zelda s squabbling family and the mysterious local healer, Zinnia Makepeace - than did the Blitz.
That's not all. A new boss is making Zelda's life difficult. Zelda's nephew, Tony, is hanging around Brian Hole, a one-boy crime wave and only child of Ma Hole, leader of the local spivs.
But Tony can sing - he has, in fact, the voice of an angel - and Miss Makepeace knows a voice coach in Soho. The people Zelda meets there change her life. Bert and Maggie Featherby offer her a way out of Hackney and her failed marriage, while the local hood, Maltese Joe, decides to take on Ma Hole.
The book ends with the birth of Rosie, the child narrator of Pip Granger's Agatha Award Nominee Not All Tarts are Apple (Hc, 1-59058-033-8; Penguin pbk 0-14-200332-8) and The Widow Ginger (Hc, 1-59058-057-5; Penguin pbk 0-14-200463-4).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This warm prequel to Agatha-finalist Granger's Not All Tarts Are Apple and The Widow Ginger follows the post-WWII adventures of Zelda Fluck and her neighbors in Paradise Gardens, a section of Hackney in London's East End. Peace has just broken out and the blitzkrieg has ceased, but Zelda and her large working-class family are confronted with food shortages, bombed-out buildings and the camaraderie and scheming that hard times bring. "Ma" Hole and her son are engaged in their customary crime spree. Someone is stealing petrol. And Zinnia Makepeace, the mysterious healer, is being threatened, her house burgled and cats stolen. Worst of all, Charlie, Zelda's abusive husband, is due home from the army. Readers won't find a major crime in these pages, but they will find a wealth of vivid, likable characters in a fully realized world that casts a bewitching spell. And Granger gets the atmosphere of 1940s London just right, down to the fish-paste sandwiches and the seamed "nylon" stockings women drew onto their legs. Gradually, Zelda forges a life beyond the restrictions of Paradise Gardens, moving to bohemian Soho, where her talented nephew Tony takes voice lessons. This charming and enticing novel stops just shy of becoming too sentimental: it's a kind of time machine to what London life could or should have been.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

World War II has just ended, but Zelda Fluck's joy is tempered by the imminent return of her abusive husband, Charlie. Further worries include her nephew Tony falling in with a bad crowd and her good friend, healer Zinnia Makepeace, being tormented by persons unknown. Charlie's arrival leaves Zelda battered and bruised but determined to solve her personal problems. Meanwhile, Zinnia has to deal with a suspicious fire, missing pets, and more threats against her. The mystery element is really only a small part of the novel, which is finally about Zelda and her family, her friendship with Zinnia, and her search for a safe, independent life for herself. Highly evocative of a time, a place, a people, and a changing way of life in London at the end of World War II, this is a satisfying, compelling novel--a prequel, in part, to Granger's other two books. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590581318
• ISBN-13: 978-1590581315
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,118,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pip of a historical character study, November 17, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trouble in Paradise (Hardcover)

Most English are euphoric and celebrated the victory ending World War II. However, Zelda feels the war was a time of personal freedom and safety even when the Blitz terrorized much of the country. Her friend Dilly assumes that Zeld seems depressed because she never felt the impact of war since her Paradise Garden was untouched. Zeld knows that the Hitler's throwing in the towel means her violent spouse Charlie is returning to abuse her.

The return of the vets impacts the workplace. New bosses place unreasonable demands on the "temporary" female replacement employees and returning soldiers are displacing women on the job. Thugs battle to take control of gangs with bystanders like Zeld's nephew Tony pulled to join or else. Healer Zinnia Makepeace obtaining singing lessons for Tony in Soho enables Zeld to meet Bert and Maggie Featherby. They provide an opportunity to escape her miserable life if she is courageous enough to leave Charlie.

This is a terrific prequel to the fabulous NOT ALL TARTS ARE APPLE as Pip Granger paints quite a different panorama than the normal upbeat England of 1946. The story line uses the characters to provide insight as the war years simply are pushed aside by those who believe a return to normalcy ignores that women proved that they were the greatest generation; Like World War I did for third world people under European rule, World War II did for women; the legacy is their daughters and younger sisters becoming Supreme Court Justices and Prime Ministers. TROUBLE IN PARADISE is a pip of a historical character study that will have fans searching for more works by Ms. Granger.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Wonderful Novel From Granger, October 11, 2005

By 

Leigh A. Taft (Mobile, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trouble in Paradise (Hardcover)

The 1st novel I read of hers was "Not All Tarts Are Apple". Granger just has this certain 'way' of really pulling the reader into the novel.
It's told from Zelda's point of view. Set in London amidst WWII, Granger intricately weaves us a tale of family & neighbors within the quaint, zany community of Paradise Gardens. Everyone is in everyone else's business & there's never a dull moment within the confines of Paradise Gardens.
Lol, I am learning so much about UK/London dialect from reading her novels!
This is a charming novel that preceeds the story from "..Tarts..".