Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of "The Sunshine Club" in exchange for my honest review.

As a huge fan of Ms. MacDonald's 'Kate Palmer' series I was eager to read this stand alone book from her. It did not disappoint. It was the same captivating writing that hooked me on the Kate Palmer stories.

The story starts with 2 women attending the funeral of a friend they have known for over 50 years. This time we meet Molly, Eve and Vanessa in 1964 when they all answered an ad for air stewardesses at Skyline Airlines. Vanessa Carter-Flint with her cut-glass accent, totally expected to be hired by the airline. Molly O'Hara was Irish and was convinced that she would not be hired because she was too short. She had trained as a nurse and was planning to go on to study midwifery when she saw the airline ad. She has always had dreams of emigrating to the US. Eve Muir was from Scottish but had excellent French skills having been a nanny in Paris for a year. She has a strained relationship with her mother after having her son Robert out-of-wedlock and being forced to give him up for adoption at 2 weeks old. This has affected her greatly over the years since.

When they all make it through the selection process they decide to share a flat on Bellingham Road until one of them is snapped up by a millionaire in first class.

The story is told through reminiscences in 2015 and through the years. In 1971 they have been living together for 7 years - Vanessa wants to buy a flat, Molly is getting married to Mario, an Italian that she met while having coffee in Rome, and Eve wants to set up her own decorating business and moves into a flat above the shop.

In 1982 Eve is a training stewardess/route supervisor, Vanessa is a cabin service supervisor and finds that she's having a baby at 40 with the Captain that she has been seeing for her entire career at the airline. Eve meets Andy Mason who chips away at her resolve to never marry and have children due to the trauma of having to give up Robert.

At several points in the story an unidentified young man keeps going to Eve's flat but she is never home.

All the ladies have to deal with different tragedies over the course of the book. The end of the story circles back to the beginning and we learn which of the 3 has died and which 2 were attending the funeral. A wonderful, touching story with some elements that were true to the times that they are set in.

Eve, Nessa and Molly are all in their seventies. Over the years, they’ve laughed and cried and they’ve been by each others’ sides as colleagues, flatmates and mothers. And they’ve grown old disgracefully together in their golden years…
But all good things must come to an end. As one of their trio takes her final journey, a very large glass is raised to fun, frolics and – most importantly – friendships.
I don't wanna be dramatic, but this book was effing brilliant. Could not recommend it more! Have never read a book so fast!