Victory

By Hannah Howe

Based on sensational true events, the concluding story in the Ann’s War Mystery Series.

The war is over and Ann’s community is preparing for the VE Day celebrations. However, not everyone is in a celebratory mood. Ann’s husband, Emrys, has returned from France, a shadow of the man who left to serve his country. What happened in France? What thoughts are weighing heavily on Emrys’ mind?

Meanwhile, Doris Michael hires Ann to find her brother, Glyn, a man she hasn’t seen for two years. What has happened to Glyn? And what crucial part did he play in determining the outcome of the war?

As Ann seeks answers, she realises that even though the war is over, the true battle has only just begun, the battle to win the peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goylake Publishing
• Release date: Jul 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781999370930

Hannah Howe

Hannah Howe is the bestselling author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series (Sam's Song, book one in the series, has reached number one on the amazon.com private detective chart on seven separate occasions and the number one position in Australia). Hannah lives in the picturesque county of Glamorgan with her partner and their two children. She has a university degree and a background in psychology, which she uses as a basis for her novels.Hannah began her writing career at school when her teacher asked her to write the school play. She has been writing ever since. When not writing or researching Hannah enjoys reading, genealogy, music, chess and classic black and white movies. She has a deep knowledge of nineteenth and twentieth century popular culture and is a keen student of the private detective novel and its history.Hannah's books are available in print, as audio books and eBooks from all major retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, iBooks, etc. For more details please visit https://hannah-howe.comThe Sam Smith Mystery Series in book order:Sam's SongLove and BulletsThe Big ChillRipperThe Hermit of HisaryaSecrets and LiesFamily HonourSins of the FatherSmoke and MirrorsStardustMind GamesDigging in the DirtA Parcel of RoguesBostonThe Devil and Ms DevlinSnow in AugustLooking for Rosanna MeeStormy WeatherDamagedEve’s War: Heroines of SOEOperation ZigzagOperation LocksmithOperation BroadswordOperation TreasureOperation SherlockOperation CameoOperation RoseOperation WatchmakerOperation OverlordOperation Jedburgh (to follow)Operation Butterfly (to follow)Operation Liberty (to follow)The Golden Age of HollywoodTula: A 1920s Novel (to follow)The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War SagaRootsBranchesLeavesFruitFlowersThe Ann's War Mystery Series in book order:BetrayalInvasionBlackmailEscapeVictoryStandalone NovelsSaving Grace: A Victorian MysteryColette: A Schoolteacher’s War (to follow)What readers have been saying about the Sam Smith Mystery Series and Hannah Howe..."Hannah Howe is a very talented writer.""A gem of a read.""Sam Smith is the most interesting female sleuth in detective fiction. She leaves all the others standing.""Hannah Howe's writing style reminds you of the Grandmasters of private detective fiction - Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker.""Sam is an endearing character. Her assessments of some of the people she encounters will make you laugh at her wicked mind. At other times, you'll cry at the pain she's suffered.""Sam is the kind of non-assuming heroine that I couldn't help but love.""Sam's Song was a wonderful find and a thoroughly engaging read. The first book in the Sam Smith mystery series, this book starts off as a winner!""Sam is an interesting and very believable character.""Gripping and believable at the same time, very well written.""Sam is a great heroine who challenges stereotypes.""Hannah Howe is a fabulous writer.""I can't wait to read the next in the series!""The Big Chill is light reading, but packs powerful messages.""This series just gets better and better.""What makes this book stand well above the rest of detective thrillers is the attention to the little details that makes everything so real.""Sam is a rounded and very real character.""Howe is an author to watch, able to change the tone from light hearted to more thoughtful, making this an easy and yet very rewarding read. Cracking!""Fabulous book by a fabulous author-I highly recommended this series!""Howe writes her characters with depth and makes them very engaging.""I loved the easy conversational style the author used throughout. Some of the colourful ways that the main character expressed herself actually made me laugh!""I loved Hannah Howe's writing style -- poignant one moment, terrifying the next, funny the next moment. I would be on the edge of my seat praying Sam wouldn't get hurt, and then she'd say a one-liner or think something funny, and I'd chuckle and catch my breath. Love it!""Sam's Song is no lightweight suspense book. Howe deals with drugs, spousal abuse, child abuse, and more. While the topics she writes about are heavy, Howe does a fantastic job of giving the reader the brutal truth while showing us there is still good in life and hope for better days to come."

Book preview

ANN’S WAR

VICTORY

ANN’S WAR

VICTORY

Hannah Howe

Goylake Publishing

Copyright © 2019 Hannah Howe

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Goylake Publishing, Iscoed, 16A Meadow Street, North Cornelly, Bridgend, Glamorgan. CF33 4LL

Print ISBN: 978-1-9993709-4-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-9993709-3-0

Printed and bound in Britain by Imprint Digital, Exeter, EX5 5HY

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

Ann’s War by Hannah Howe,

available in print, as eBooks and audio books

Betrayal

Invasion

Blackmail

Escape

Victory

The Sam Smith Mystery Series by Hannah Howe, available in print, as eBooks and audio books

Sam’s Song

Love and Bullets

The Big Chill

Ripper

The Hermit of Hisarya

Secrets and Lies

Family Honour

Sins of the Father

Smoke and Mirrors

Stardust

Mind Games

Digging in the Dirt

A Parcel of Rogues

Boston

The Devil and Ms Devlin

Stand-alone Novel

Saving Grace

To my family, with love

Chapter One

Ann Morgan woke from a dream. In her dream, she had been walking along the beach with her husband, Emrys, while Baskerville, their dog, explored the rock pools, the shells and seaweed. The sun shone and seagulls squawked. The sand was smooth, unblemished, free from the scars of war. It was a simple, yet perfect dream.

A beach full of shells, Ann mused, stretching, blinking herself awake. She pondered the double meaning. Even though the enemy had not landed on their beach, it was strewn with bullet casings, unwelcome shells, discarded by the Allied soldiers. Those soldiers had trained hard, preparing for the D-Day landings. Despite the sacrifices, the abhorrent cost of human life, those landings had been a success and now they stood on the 5th May 1945 in sight of victory.

The sunshine, peeping through the curtains, kissed Ann’s cheek. The sun also warmed Baskerville in his bed, a new wicker basket. Ann had crafted the basket herself and she admired it with a hint of pride.

Rolling on to her side, Ann hugged Emrys; she cwtched him tight, longing for an intimate moment. However, Emrys eased himself off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

Ann and Emrys had been apart for over a year after the Germans had shot down Emrys’ aeroplane during a reconnaissance mission. He’d spent months in hiding before linking up with the French Resistance. That much, Ann knew. However, she did not know the details of Emrys’ year in France because he refused to talk about them. She wondered what had happened in France and hoped that he would find the courage to talk about his experiences, soon.

Ann listened as Emrys turned on the taps and air rattled in the water pipes. He would fix that problem in a trice; solutions to mechanical problems came naturally to him.

A creaking floorboard told Ann that Emrys was walking downstairs. Therefore, she wandered into the bathroom to wash and dress before joining him in the kitchen.

Although the routine was new, Ann and Emrys performed their domestic duties with natural ease –Emrys accompanied Baskerville into the back garden, where the dog relieved himself, while Ann prepared breakfast. Today, they would feast on eggs from a local farm, fried bread baked by Ann, and the last of their weekly bacon rations.

Ann had set some of their bacon rations aside, for the anticipated VE Day celebrations. The nation was on tenterhooks, awaiting Mr Churchill’s formal announcement. Ann looked forward to that announcement, to the