The Fortune Tellers

LoveReading Says

World War One provides the backdrop detailing the lives of two best friends in Blackpool as they make their way in the world in The Fortune Tellers by Maggie Mason.

Martha moves to Blackpool with her grandmother to escape the rising tensions in Ireland. She soon meets Trisha, her neighbour, and they become fast friends. Martha and her grandmother, who both have the gift of seeing the future, set up a tent on the Blackpool Promenade selling their personal prognostications to the public. 

This sweeping saga has it all: romance, heartbreak, tragedy, triumph, and everything in between. Although challenges come and go, the friendship between the two young women is ever constant and heartwarming to read.

Blackpool itself is very much its own character in the tale, with detailed descriptions of the promenade, the visitors and the attractions. Even the donkeys on the beach play an important part of the story.

Maggie Mason, the pen name of author Mary Wood, started writing full time after retiring from the National Probation Service in 2009. Since then, she has written nine books, including this one, as Maggie Mason, and fourteen as Mary Wood.

The Fortune Tellers is the first in a trilogy, so more adventures are in store for Martha and Trisha in the future.

Reviewed by Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton, a writer and journalist, has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Radio Times, Heat, and many others.
More reviews by Maureen Stapleton

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