Have never read a bad book by this author - she is very popular in this country. Love her books.

Back Cover Blurb:
For the inhabitants of Liverpool's Milton Street a steady income and a roof over their heads are luxuries. The Ryan family have barely grown accustomed to having such things when a fire destroys their father Jack's modest coal haulage business, leaving Jack broken and his family facing ruin. Its not long before they're forced to turn to Conor, Jack's brother from Ireland, a man whose noisy joviality seventeen-year-old Ellen Ryan suspects hides a mean viciousness. She's right, and with her mother sick and her half-sister Annie becoming increasingly feckless, its down to Ellen to fight Conor's drunken tyranny. But when Annie disappears, leaving her baby on their doorstep, Ellen begins to fear for herself and for the life of the innocent child she has instantly learnt to love. ( )