The Gift of Friends

Emma's last title left me teary eyed and overwhelmed. The simplicity of friendship in the complex daily life was absolutely heart winning. A treasure of a book on friendships.

When rich Irish boy Justin Johnson moves in to the beautiful and exclusive 10 Kingfisher Road on the outskirts of a small Irish town called Vayhill with his fiancée Danielle, the residents association of four lady neighbours watch them unloading their boxes of belongings and furniture into their lovely new home. They are keen to welcome the new couple into their supportive ‘family’ and are keen to be good neighbours. Soon, they hope, their close group of four will become five.
Chairperson of the association is Betsy Cox who lives with her husband Noel in Number 1. Their son is married and living in Australia. As this novel starts, he phones his mother to tell her two pieces of jaw-dropping news. He and his wife want to come home and live with them until they get sorted out. Betsy is so happy, but Graham has more to tell her. He has a baby son called Arnie that he has never told her about. Although Betsy is upset that he has not let her know, so is both excited and ecstatic to learn that she and Noel are grandparents.
Maia and her husband Freddie have two teenage children who are almost at the point of flying the nest. Zach is going to Uni in the States and Zara is going travelling for a year before taking up her position at Belfast University and Maia is dreading their departure. With her silver wedding coming up she hatches a plan for a grand party before the family are two and not four living together at their cherished home.
Nancy Smyth loves doing Pilates and is very active and empathetic senior citizen. She is widowed but very positive and upbeat. She loves her house and her little dog. It is full of cherished memories of her married life but now she is keen to make new memories. She has a pair of Kingfishers that are really tame and visit her regularly to take the scraps that puts out for them. She is full of life, wisdom and wonder.
Pearl is married to Seth and they have a sixteen-year-old son called Drew. He has special needs and will never develop his mind past that of a six-year-old. Pearl loves him to death but Seth is ashamed of him and very stern and dismissive. Both Pearl and Drew have to watch what they say because Seth has a really nasty streak and expects his family to be just-so.
These friends all have something that they are hiding from each other; a buried secret that they do not want to share. But so does Danielle and this heart-warming new novel from Emma Hannigan tells the story of the five friends and how they help, advise and support each other. Each of the story threads are equally imaginative and absorbing.
This will be Emma’s last novel, Novel number 13, because sadly she was taken away by Cancer last year, after a very brave fight against this odious condition. She wrote this novel knowing that her diagnosis was terminal. It is such a lovely gift to leave behind for her family, friends, fans and followers and I enjoyed reading it so much. Not only is it beautifully written but it’s overflowing with love, warmth, compassion, supportiveness and friendship.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Review through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. This novel is a terrific read and will keep you turning the pages, wondering what will happen next. It’s a very well deserved and solid 4* review from me.