The ‘Frank’ of the title is a deeply unpleasant man who drops dead at Heathrow, on Christmas Eve, after suffering a heart attack. His estranged daughter, Jem, discovers that he had an undiagnosed heart defect which could be inherited. She also finds out she has a half-brother she knew nothing about and realises she needs to tell him about the heart condition.

Set in London and rural France this is the story of relationships and secrets. It moves from the present to the past as it describes how Jem became alienated from her father and how her half-brother came into existence.
None of the characters are particular likeable, with the exception of Mike the dog. Frank’s ex-lover, Kathleen is a self-absorbed actress who has to be the centre of attention. Her son, Sonny, is equally self-absorbed and her daughter, Lauren is a control freak. Her husband, Walter, is one step removed from his family. Jem spends most of her time being aloof and rather cross. Whilst I didn’t warm to the characters they were very well drawn and shrewdly observed.

The novel kept my attention throughout and it is cleverly written. It is an acute observation of how lives can change because of one incident and a past indiscretion.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I thought The Frank Business was a great holiday read. The sins of the father are visited upon the son (and daughter.) Frank is an evil man who lives in France. In the opening chapter of the book we meet Frank. He is illustrating a card, and looking forward to Christmas with friends. He receives a shock that sets him on a plane to London. There, Frank dies.
The rest of the book is how people deal with Frank’s legacy. His blameless daughter Jem is forced to clear up Frank's mess, drawing her into a whole new family at the most stressful of times: Christmas. The story is enjoyably messy. Secrets have been kept for selfish reasons, and it is fun to see a family reforming itself around the new situation. Four stars.

Although Frank gets a credit in this title he actually dies on the first page. His death reveals a range of dark secrets about his relatives and lover as the consequences rebound in the next generation. Maybe the name Frank is a pun because no one in this novel is frank in the sense of being honest with one another if they can get away with an evasion or a half-truth.

Kathleen Griffin, the central living character, is a bit of second-rate TV actress with pretensions to film and the stage. She has a son, Sonny, who is also an actor and at the start of the book they have featured as Gertrude and Hamlet in a radio production of Shakespeare's play. Frank, her one-time lover, hears this broadcast at his home in France and is inspired to set off to London on Christmas Eve before unhappily collapsing at Heathrow Airport with a massive aortic aneurysm.

That is worth mentioning because it is a genetic condition and he has a daughter, official, and a son, unofficial, the product of a brief relationship with a passing film star who might inherit it. That's enough of the plot without giving too much away.

I had a problem with this book in that I didn't really warm to any of the characters. Kathleen doesn't want the truth to come out but at the same time cannot be truly honest with anyone. I think you are meant to think she is scatty and doing her best in a sea of confused emotions but I didn't really like her. She treats her daughter badly and exploits Frank's wife without thinking twice.

I wasn't so keen on her son and her cold fish daughter, Lauren, either. Sonny has an on and off girlfriend who he treats with minimal respect and the wronged husband, Walter, has his own secrets as some kind of war correspondent or photographer.

The story unravels with people jumping into cars and suddenly deciding to jump into planes which always seem to have one seat available. The plot takes place in a range of rather posh London houses and a rural French retreat and you never quite know who's going to turn up where.

In the end it isn't like Hamlet and everyone gets back together with someone and it's all rather cosy. I wasn't convinced by that really either but you can make your own judgements there! I think I might have enjoyed it more if the characters were less self obsessed but, then, I didn't even like the family dog who comments occasionally from the sidelines.

Well written and interesting, I’m glad I gave this a go. Unfortunately the characters didn’t drive the story forward and as a result I felt disengaged from the story.

This book didn't really work for me personally, but I can appreciate its appeal. The impact of the book lies in the sudden death of Frank and the subsequent effects on those left behind. This is where the complications surface as it seems Frank had secrets that will impact on his children's lives and well-being of the family.

The theme of lies and their impact on others is well delivered and the story-telling is simple and effective, at times though some of the characters responses seemed unnatural, which pulled me out of investing fully in the story. I just didn't really engage with any of the characters and I think this pulled me out of the story-telling. I also found the structural transitions a little jarring, as we jumped back and forth between the two narratives of past and present.
Again, this is not my usual read or genre, but I can appreciate why others would really enjoy it, particularly the central theme of the effect of secrets and lies.

Thank you for the review copy and wish the writer every success with the right reader.

Frank is old, gets a shock and hops on a plane. Frank then dies. His daughter then starts to unravel Frank's secrets, etc etc.

None of the characters are easy to relate to or even warm to. The story feels formulaic and has been done better. Sorry, I really tried to get in to this book as I normally like these types of stories but I was really pleased to get to the end of it.

Frank is preparing for Christmas dinner with his neighbours in France when he hears a voice from his past on the radio which sends him back to the past with such urgency that he drops everything and catches the first available flight back to England, in search of the owner of the voice. Things definitely don’t go according to his plan but that doesn’t matter because Frank probably isn’t a very nice man. Told in flashbacks as the people who know and the people who knew Frank 25 years ago are brought together to unravel the truth about Frank. None of the characters were particularly likeable, some much worse than others, but the story had enough twists to keep me engrossed to the slightly rushed end. Definitely one of the better books I’ve read recently.

Frank flies into Heathrow airport away from his home in France. He collapses and dies of heart failure. His estranged daughter, Jem, is notified. Jem travels to France to find some clues as to why her Father had suddenly upped and flown into Heathrow with no luggage on Christmas Eve. The story that unfolds blows lives apart.

I have read this type of book before – not exactly the same but the idea of someone dying with business unfinished & perhaps an estranged or unknown family. However, the thing that I found really fresh in this book is that Frank doesn’t turn out to be that nice a person. It isn’t all roses and there are very clear reasons why Jem is estranged. This bought a new angle to the concept.

I enjoyed the first three quarters of the book & then wondered where it was going to go next. I get the impression that the author thought this too as the story ends in a great rush with some strange actions by the characters which I couldn’t quite understand. It was a bit of a shame really as although this wasn’t a “wow” sort of book the ideas were coming on well.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot or characters as I feel in this story it is important the reader discovers things alongside the characters. However, the various characters weren’t as in depth as I would have liked. The author could have developed their individuality better.

I felt disappointed in this book. It started well with a fresh outlook on a well used plot. However the characters didn’t grow enough and the ending was quite flat & very rushed.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

When Frank meets an unexpected end, his estranged daughter Jem discovers that she is not, as she thought, his sole surviving relative as she encounters her half- brother Sonny and his family.
The Frank Business is a graceful work, focusing on the consequences years on of an old transgression- more a thoughtless little temporary wander off the beaten track.
The style is cosy, but compensation is provided by some sharp, astute descriptions. But the real strength is in the pace of the reveal and in the development of the characters. As Kathleen’s story is considered in the mid-section, any fleeting sympathy for her treatment by the awful film director is swiftly replaced by horror at her self-absorption. The lesser characters are just as shrewdly observed, from Walter unshaven in his pjs to Lauren’s reaction to the commandeering of her space.
I really enjoyed this clever book.
With thanks to Netgalley and John Murray Press

This book tells the story of Jem, who is estranged from her father (Frank). When Frank dies suddenly, Jem discovers that she has a half-brother. As Frank died of a congenital heart condition, Jem tracks down her brother to let him know that he needs to be checked. The book then goes on to explain why Jem and Frank were estranged, and how her brother was conceived. The story was told in a very compelling fashion, and definitely held my attention all the way through. Although the reactions of some of the protagonists to the unfolding events seemed slightly implausible, this did not detract from my enjoyment, and I found the book to be very well written.

After Jem’s Father, who she hasn’t seen for over 15 years, drops dead in Heathrow Airport, she discovers that she has a half-brother, and also that their father may have passed on a heart defect to them both. She decides to meet her brother and tell him, but in doing so, she exposes a 25 year old lie and risks tearing a family apart.
An interesting story, with the action split between the present and 25 years previous. The setting moves between North London and Provence, and both areas were well described. Whilst the characters were also well presented, I found it very hard to feel empathy or a liking for any of them and I wasn’t sure whether I was particularly bothered what happened to any of them at the end of the book. However, the story did show how a seemingly happy family could be left in disarray when deceits are exposed.

Felt like this should be deeper however it is a nice easy read with a great story running behind it. Enjoyable but could be a lot more.

Interesting book - twists and turns in it and enjoyable right to the end. Kathleen, the overbearing mother was
a brilliant character and the interplay between the new siblings was fascinating! It brought up all sorts of emotions - very well written.

A chance broadcast heard on the radio leads to the unravelling of the Frank Affair, secrets are revealed and family lines shifted in this tale of infidelity. The character of Frank is revealed as angry and unpleasant and the lives of Jem and Sonny are changed forever. The ripples spread out and affect Katherine, Lauren and Walter too. The most unpleasant secret known only by Katherine is not revealed to anybody but the reader and that is as it should be. Thank you to Netgalley and John Murray books for the chance to read in exchange for an honest review.

Frank arrives at Heathrow Airport on Christmas Eve and drops dead. Hours before he had found out he had a son and was on the way to find him.
His estranged daughter, Jem, identifies the body and travels to his house in France where she finds out about her brother, Sonny. Jem then finds out that Frank died from a heart defect and that both her and Sonny could die from it at any time.
She arrives back in London aware that the news she has is going to tear her brother and his family apart but she must tell him.
This is a story of lies and how we get found out and the damage they do. It also show how we can turn our lives round with love and friends and family.

The story is based around Frank and his family (should I say his estranged family) after he drops dead.
Story had so much potential but for me it sadly just didn’t deliver.
Characters are not particularly nice
Story is weak.
Thank you to both NetGalley and John Murray Press for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Quirky, a great opening chapter. It ultimately never rally got me hooked.
Frank dies suddenly at Heathrow airport having made the sudden decision to fly in to London from his home in France to try and meet the son he never knew he had following a brief affair 25 years before.

His estranged daughter jem, as his official next of kin, discovered the reason for her fathers visit to the Uk and goes about finding the brother she never knew she had. Family secrets at the heart of this contemporary novel.

A compelling read despite not liking most of the characters. The read itself is somewhat fragmented and jumps about a bit but despite all this one feels the need to finish the book to find out how everything is resolved or not.
It is a comparatively short and quick read and most of the characters are quite shallow, totally selfish, self centred and overindulged. There were some rather horrific and disturbing scenarios in the book which the characters, true to their type, rather glossed over and had, mostly, no empathy with each other.

Frank drops dead in Heathrow Airport on a mystery trip to London and this novel deals with the consequences of his death and the effect it has on his family and acquaintances. I didn’t like most of the characters- most of them are extremely self-centred and annoying. I found myself rushing to finish the book simply to find out what happens in the end but I wasn’t really engaged with the story. Not one I particularly enjoyed.

I don't know why, but this was much darker than I expected - Frank was truly awful and I didn't like Kathleen much either - couldn't help thinking they deserved each other. But there was a lot of warmth and humour here as well and, although I can't say I liked all the characters, there was enough to keep me going and I enjoyed the book very much