The Woman on the Bridge: You saw The Girl on the Train. You watched The Woman in the Window. Now meet The Woman on the Bridge

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Charlotte lost her parents in a car accident just after starting her dream job at a museum in London. All she ever wanted was to inherit and run her dad's antique shop. Except he wasn't keen on retiring and giving it to her. Dad Charles was carrying on a secret affair with [redacted]. It obviously colored his judgement, so when he got *hoodwinked* with some shady business dealing guess who was left with the debt? The book is incredibly well researched and the abject poverty, shortage of essentials and the never ending disruption to locals is well documented. But their life together is anything but easy, Joseph's family shelters political fugitives and supports the rebellion against the British and they dislike Winifred because of her neutrality. But even when things start to look up and treaties are discussed, the struggle is far from over and Winnie needs to choose which side she stands for even if that means endangering her family. Nevertheless I’m glad to have read this novel, and especially glad that it was featured on the Pigeonhole, since otherwise I would likely have missed it. But is Maggie the best friend Charlotte has always dreamed about, or the nightmare she never saw coming...

With so much worry, strain, and genuine anguish, one would assume Winnie's story was a bleak one, yet she remained positive and hopeful. That mindset is what saw her through some desperate situations. Winnie’s story is a typical historical saga, with trouble after trouble piling upon her. It’s not only wars: they also suffer disease, drunken fights, and childbirth. It’s all eminently believable, and an author’s note confirms the inspiration of her grandmother’s oral history. Winnie soldiers on, as she must, earning the label ‘strong woman’. But, despite all her sorrows, the book retains the warmth of hope and of love. The roommates ventured out, heading crosstown. Somehow, the two women ended up all the way east at the pedestrian entrance to the Queensboro Bridge. Estelle kept threatening to throw herself off it. Gloria was the youngest, by far, 12 and 14 years younger than her two sisters, Janet and Agnes. Despite the gulf in ages, Gloria and Janet grew particularly close. (Agnes, the eldest, remained more distant.) But that bond did not alter the fact that her sisters had left home, married, bore children, divorced, and remarried before Gloria was fully out of childhood. It is a love story essentially but not exclusively that, set around a rough and at times bloody period of Irish history and we get other veins of normality and harsh reality. Alcoholism, DV, family dynamics, love, loss, grief it is a mixed bag and envelopes the reader in the characters lives, trials and tribulations whilst giving us some important history with emotive moments.Dublin. The 1920s. As war tears Ireland apart, two young people are caught up in events that will bring love, tragedy - and the hardest of choices. Joseph's family shelter fugitives and smuggle weapons. Joseph would never ask Winnie to join the fight; but his mother and sisters demand commitment. Will Winnie choose Joseph, and put her own loved ones in deadly danger? Or wait for a time of peace that may never come? The violence and deprivation of wartime, the struggles of the men, the courage of the women who had to stand up for their families, their resistance in the shadows or prison, women's rights and the ravages of Spanish flu and tuberculosis are also covered. Soon Maggie is staying in Charlotte's home, safely hidden from the man that she was so desperate to escape. The immediate bond between the two women eclipses anything they've ever known and before long they will go to extreme lengths to protect each other.

I hope she’d be proud that I’ve written more than one, and I really hope she’d be proud of The Woman on the Bridge and how I’ve interpreted her story. The Woman On The Bridge is a celebration of early Irish history with a strong female lead inspired by the writers own family and past. Charlotte and Maggie are both having an incredibly bad night when they meet on a bridge. But when Charlotte saves Maggie from falling to her death, an immediate bond is created. Charlotte has always pretty much just had the one good friend and she has just betrayed her. She sees something in Maggie. Could she possibly be the best friend Charlotte has always dreamed of? So Charlotte decides to take Maggie home with her, a decision which will impact both of their lives. I turned down lots of them before my mother accepted one for me (I was on holiday at the time). It was in the Central Bank of Ireland and that’s how my career in financial services began.I was looking forward to starting this one, sounded just like my type of story and it didn’t disappoint. Winnie comes from a working class style family, Joseph's family whilst having money are very involved in the troubles and supportive/activists with freedom. As Winnie and Joseph's relationship develops we see her being pulled further into the other side, strong belief's and the trouble and threats that come from this. Her name wasn’t Estelle Evans, and her story was even more tragic and upsetting beyond the dive off the Queensboro Bridge. She took her life because of a romance built on lies. For Michael King’s real name was Meir Kahane. She had fallen for a man who went on to become one of the most notorious and divisive figures in modern Jewish history. She would never know if he loved her or if he used her as he would come to be known for using others to further his own nefarious purposes. Charlotte's mom: her motto was "dignity always" but in reality it should've been "bitter always" or "misdirected anger, always"

My grandmother was never afraid of expressing herself. She was a strong character, who took no nonsense from anyone and who was fiercely protective of her family. She raised her daughters to be strong women too — a trait that I think they passed on to their granddaughters. She also encouraged us to read as widely as possible. At the foot of the Queensboro Bridge, NYPD patrol officers spotted Estelle about 100 yards from shore. Some parts I did find myself thinking, why on earth would you do that?! And finding it did have a little bit of an unrealistic feel, I was too engrossed in the plot for it to effect my enjoyment. I have read and enjoyed all of Holly Seddon’s previous books but this one blows them all out of the water!! I've read nearly all of Seddon's books except for 1 that's been on my windowsill for quite some time. I really liked The Hit List. I'm a little rattled by what I just read, and don't think I can write a spoiler free review. [Minor spoilers ahead]

Browse reviews by Century

Charlotte is getting her Toyko Drift on when she sees Maggie in a wedding dress standing on the edge of a bridge. After rescuing her, the two become instant besties... but their friendship comes at a price. When Charlotte drives past a woman in a wedding dress standing on a bridge, she stops and tries to help. This, in turn, sets in place a chain of events that get increasingly bizarre as we learn more about the key players. Joseph's family hide fugitives and transport guns and ammunition round the city. When it is announced that Joseph and Winnie will be getting married, they expect Winnie to become more involved with the movement. The story is told through the lives of the O’Leary and Burke families, the latter being actively involved in fighting the British, the former just looking for a peaceful existence. Estelle Evans and two patrolmen hold onto a life preserver after Evans jumped off the Queensboro Bridge.