Journey's End

I am wondering if the author either had amnesia or hoped that the readers would when she wrote this book. The first striking thing about the book was that names of the main characters were changed from the first book. For example, Frank Trent became Edward Trent, Joanne Davidson became Vicky Davidson Maitland, Arthur Chives became Adam Chives, Ben Morgan became Ben Morris, and Lucy Solomons reverted to using her maiden name of Baker (strange for a widow in the 1950s.) I also found it silly that, in both books, Lucy was in her early to mid fifties and is made out to be a frail, elderly woman. Her housekeeper, Elsie, would have been well into her sixties, yet she is taking care of Lucy and worrying about her working too hard. Also, Mary would have been in her early twenties and is made out to be an old maid. She'd be about the same age as Ben's daughter, but Abbie seems to accept her same-age step-mother well. That said, I mostly enjoyed the book. I loved that Bridget was back in her witty form. In both books, I detested the character of Leonard Maitland and was highly disappointed that "Vicky" went back to him in the end. I was hoping that he wouldn't survive the shooting. I was also disappointed that "Vicky" would go back to America after purchasing and renovating her old farmhouse. I'd hoped that she'd divorce Leonard and stay in England. Some of the stories in the book don't follow logic. For instance, Frank "Edward" Trent might have caught a glance of Joanne "Vicky" Davidson while he snuck a peak at a barn dance twenty years earlier. And, even if he figured out who she was or what her name was at that time, it seems unlikely that he'd recognize her and recall her name some twenty years later. And, Leonard knowing immediately that Trent might be the man tailing "Vicky" around Liverpool is also strange. Trent was a former beau of Leonard's former housekeeper twenty years before. He caused the death of her child and slithered off to parts unknown. That Leonard would immediately think it was he who followed "Vicky," whom the man didn't even know seemed improbable. The book was rushed at the end and I felt some stories should be further explored & developed.