A fabulous read. Brimming with brilliant characters and totally believable scenarios. Feel good and poignant in equal measure. Loved it.

What a book- I started it thinking that it was going to be a ok read, but how wrong was I.
It’s based on 4 main characters James , his daughter Phoebe , son Robert and the new carer Mandy. James is elderly and now needs a carer. Unfortunately the last few carers that James has had have not been up to scratch and it didn’t work out. Therefore Phoebe and Robert try and find another carer hoping that this time it will work out. They find Mandy who goes above and beyond to make James’ life as fulfilling as possible. However there is an unexpected twist.

The way it’s been written it flies between from Phoebe to Richard to Mandy’s point of view. There are no chapters but the book is written in sections Part 1 ,Part 2. It flows so well.

I read this in one sitting I was totally engrossed in it. I don’t want to say anymore as I don’t want to spoil it.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Tinder Press for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

James is getting older and his children think that he needs looking after. They hire a Carer called Mandy to look after him.
At first things are fine but as Mandy and James become closer his children start to feel jealous and look for signs that Mandy is up to no good.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

* spoiler alert ** I much preferred the first half of this book,told from Pheobe and Roberts point of view. About their lives,their aging father and the carer they've got in to look after him in his own home.
Along with the characters,I was suspicious of the decline in their fathers health,the rifling in the upstairs drawers and the odd questions.
When all was explained,and a wider view point added,which included going into the past,I wasn't quite so engaged.
I think by that point I felt I knew what had happened and didn't need pages and pages of how.

This is just the kind of feel-good domestic drama I would expect from Deborah Moggach, driven by realistic and engaging characters and her astute observation of British class consciousness and behaviour. There is a visual quality to her writing, I could picture the characters in my mind’s eye easily and the dialogue is vivid and entertaining. A screenplay in the making, perhaps - I’d like to hope so. With a little bit of mystery and the odd plot twist added in, it made perfect reading for a sunny Bank Holiday.

Phoebe and Robert are worried about their father – James is now elderly, and recently a new carer has moved in to look after him. Although James seems to be enjoying a whole new lease of life, his children become more and more suspicious of Mandy – particularly when they find out she’s been through his family documents and he’s recently visited a solicitor to alter his will… but is all as they think?

A great quick read about family, secrets, and betrayal.