Girls in tin hats - Annie Murray

1940 - Small Heath, in the heart of Birmingham, is facing the darkest days of the war.

Two very different girls from this tight-knit community join up as ARP wardens to do their bit for the Home Front.

Violet Simms lives with her controlling, widowed mother who runs the local pawn shop. At just twenty-years-old, Violet longs for friendship, love and escape. It seems her dreams might come true until tragedy strikes on one of the very worst nights of the Birmingham Blitz.

Grace Templeton is the eldest in her family of ten children. Spirited Grace is determined never to become burdened by child bearing and drudgery like her mother. Adored by childhood sweetheart, Jimmy Oval, Grace believes she can do better. Volunteering as an ARP warden feels like a chance for adventure - until she sees the horror and reality of war first hand. In this blacked out city, where not everyone is quite what they seem, she comes to realize she is less in control of events than she had thought.

The war will have long-lasting effects on every family . . . Long buried secrets come to light, and their stories are woven together amid the intense bombing of Birmingham.

The girls' lives will be changed forever by friendship and love, by tragedy and joy.

Girls in Tin Hats is the heart-wrenching generational saga by Sunday Times top ten bestselling author 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 Sunday Times bestseller list when it was published in 1995. She has subsequently written many other successful novels, including War Babies and Girls in Tin Hats and the bestselling novels Chocolate Girls, Sisters of Gold and Black Country Orphan. Annie has four children, all Birmingham born and she lives near Oxford.

This heart-warming story is a gripping read, full of drama, love and compassion (Soldier Girl)
Take a Break

This epic saga will have you gripped from start to finish (Chocolate Girls)
Birmingham Evening Mail

An exceptional first novel (Birmingham Rose)
Chronicle

Just the right mix of mystery and nostalgia (Birmingham Friends)
Parents' Magazine

A tale of passion and empathy which will keep you hooked (Birmingham Blitz)
Woman's Own