This book will have you laughing, crying, and cheering.

About the book

Kathleen Gray—talented, a little wild, at times rebellious, but always popular—has a fun, easy life in rural Somerset, with a doting family.
Suddenly, they are gone, everything is changed, and she has only Uncle Jack. Try as he might, he cannot be father and mother to her—he has a business to run and his own life to manage.
Kathleen takes a chance and becomes Kate Westfield, fending for herself in London, with a new life built on her hopes and dreams and new friends. She could hardly have imagined that one of those friends has a shoebox full of answers.

About L. B. Griffin

L.B. Griffin has been happily married for over 40 years and is surrounded by her family in Wiltshire. Before retiring she always wrote around her full time paid job. Her stories touch upon social issues and are filled with gentle hints of romance. Her women don’t see themselves as courageous, strong, or survivors, but they certainly are.

Her debut, Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox has received 5 star reviews, amongst them Whispering stories and VINE reader/blogger Michelle Ryles, singing high praise: ‘Incredibly well-written, Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox is a magnificent debut. It’s a poignant, disturbing and a heart-warming page-turner that has left me chomping at the bit to continue Harriet’s story.’

L.B. Griffin continues to turn silent stories into courage, hope, survival and ultimately happiness. Be warned, she is a self-confessed chocolate-raisin and strawberry addict!

My thoughts

At the age of 14,  Kathleen Gray, adopted at birth, loses the only family she has known to a car accident. She only has her Uncle Jack left.

Feeling she’s a burden to the jet setting bachelor, she flees to London where she becomes Kate Westfield, budding fashion designer. Little did she know that when she started her new life, she would also discover secrets about her past. Secrets that affect her and those she loves.

L.B. Griffin’s masterful tale, The Twenty-One Year Contract, is a companion to her debut novel, Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox, but you don’t need to read the first to enjoy the second.

The story, a coming-of-age novel, places you firmly in mid-twentieth century London, on the cusp of the cultural revolution of the 1960s. You see the excitement of the era through the eyes of Kate, her Uncle Jack, and her friend Hattie.

The plot is brilliant. Just when you think you’ve figured out what’s going to happen next, Griffin throws in a completely unexpected—but believable—twist so you’re compelled to keep turning the pages.

She’s gifted us with remarkably believable characters and gives us the privilege of seeing into each one’s mind. You’ll see the emotional struggles of all of the very real people who populate this book and find yourself invested in each of their lives.

The Twenty-One Year Contract will have you laughing, crying, and cheering. It’s a must-read.