Emotions run deep in tales of love, death and family feuds
ZOE EFSTATHIOU casts a critical eye over the month’s new fiction for women
SECRETS OF A HAPPY MARRIAGE by Cathy Kelly Orion, £14.99
THE Brannigans aren’t your average run-of-the-mill family, they’re an intriguing, troubled and almost unrealistically glamorous lot.
At the head of the family is silver fox Edward Brannigan, a successful self-made businessman. He recently remarried after his much-loved wife Lottie died of cancer. Unlike the saintly Lottie, Edward’s new wife Bess is a tough, uncaring woman. Despite doting on Edward, she is harsh and unkind to her grownup daughter Amy whom she considers a failure and to stepdaughter Jojo whom she thinks is spoilt.
Grieving for the loss of her mother, Jojo despises her father’s new wife who also seems hell-bent on trampling over Lottie’s memory. Not only has Bess totally redecorated the family home but she has also organised a huge party for Edward’s 70th birthday at Lisowen Castle which is where he celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary to Lottie.
The novel alternates between all these characters plus other extended family members and follows each of their lives in the run-up to Edward’s birthday celebration.
Often in novels that follow a large cast of characters, some stories tend to be more engaging than others. Unusually, in Secrets Of A Happy Marriage, each character’s journey is uniquely interesting and engaging. Occasionally the dialogue feels a little contrived. But all in all this is a wise novel which not only entertains but, as every family member gives their own side of the story, promotes compassion.
BEFORE THE RAINS by Dinah Jefferies Penguin, £12.99
IN THE latest novel from the author of bestselling The Tea Planter’s Wife, Eliza is a 28-yearold widow striving to make a name for herself as a photojournalist during the 1930s. She is lucky enough to be sent to
India by the British government to photograph the country’s royal family.
There Eliza falls for Jay, the Prince’s handsome younger brother who, despite his privileges, is sweet, sensitive and sympathetic to the plight of impoverished local people.
Although they hail from different worlds, Eliza and Jay recognise kindred spirits in one another. But Jay’s family stands staunchly in the way of their union.
The novel is richly descriptive and the detailed portrayal of contemporary customs is a testament to the vast amount of research Jefferies must have undertaken when writing this ambitious book.
While it is a pleasing romance, the novel’s predictable and seemingly unrealistic plot didn’t quite live up to its evocative scene setting.
PUZZLE GIRL by Rachael Featherstone Accent, £17.99
SITTING in the waiting room of a GP’s surgery after twisting her ankle, Cassy Brookes devises a crossword in a puzzle book. She is startled to discover during a subsequent check-up that a stranger has not only filled her puzzle in but has also left an impressive cryptic clue.
Cassy can’t rest until she solves the mystery of Puzzle-man’s identity.
Rachael Featherstone’s publishers are pitching Puzzle Girl as “You’ve Got Mail meets Bridget Jones by the new Sophie Kinsella”. But while the novel is a fun, easy read, it lacks the natural wit and sparkle of Sophie Kinsella’s bestsellers.
Featherstone’s ditzy heroine gets into plenty of embarrassing situations but they often come across as a little derivative, contrived and even outdated at a time when Kinsella’s heroines have moved on from being man-obsessed klutzes.
Cassy comes to life when she’s solving puzzle clues, sparring with work rival Martin and writing funny draft emails and it’s a shame the author couldn’t have embraced these original aspects of the heroine’s character a little more.
Nevertheless Puzzle Girl is an enjoyable, light-hearted read.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT by Catherine Alliott Michael Joseph, £12.99
MOLLY and her husband David traded their busy corporate lives for a farm life idyll in Hertfordshire. Tragically David died in a car accident shortly after they arrived. Determined not to give up on their dream and stay strong for the children, Molly knuckled down to country life. But as a grieving single mum chasing errant sheep and mending fences, her rural life is far from idyllic and she struggles to make ends meet.
Her fortunes suddenly change when she unexpectedly inherits a beautiful west London house from her late husband’s uncle.
About Last Night’s premise is appealing. After all, who wouldn’t want all their money worries to disappear overnight? But Molly is a difficult character to care about. Her prickly and uncharismatic personality left me feeling indifferent towards her prospects in London.
The novel also felt sluggish at times and might have been more lively if told in the present rather than past tense.