The Handover

I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to hear a story set "up north" as us Mancunians say. This isn't a book set in a perfect little town with perfect little people where everything is great and then they all fall in love etc, instead it faces up to the real emotions of life and the hardships people are secretly facing. It was good that it didn't shy away from hard subjects but also didn't make you feel depressed from reading the story, so it was well balanced out. As to the mystery aspect, well I was kept guessing right up until they told me what happened which rarely happens so that was very well written, and overall I really enjoyed this book so will recommend to others

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
This was a rather lovely, unusual book and I enjoyed very much. It tells the story of Daisy and Nate, two security guards in a Manchester museum. They work opposing shifts and both have lives that have been beset by mistreatment, and misunderstanding. The story touches some difficult issues, child abuse, alcoholism and dementia. It's doesn't explore them in great detail however. It's a sad story at times, but uplifting at others.
I would recommend this book, and will read others by this author.

This book was an enjoyable read and not what I expected at all (in a good way). The characters are slowly developed over the course of the book and so you really get to understand what makes them tick. I enjoyed reading in first person as both Nate and Daisy as this added depth to their characters. There are several strands to the story, the mystery of the missing items in the museum, the personal lives of both Daisy and Nate, as well as a developing relationship between the two protagonists. The concept of the story is quite unique and I didn’t feel as though I’d “read it before” as you sometimes do with some novels. All in all this was a nice easy read and I’d definitely recommend.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!
I was addicted to this book right from the first few pages. I’m still thinking about it days after finishing it. Great storyline and so well written.

Daisy is the night security guard at the Manchester Museum of Social History. She takes her job very seriously, protecting the museum from troublemakers and anyone who openly mocks the fact they have a dinosaur on display.

Nate works the day shift, though he'd be more suited as a museum guide the way he chats with the visitors. Daisy doesn't approve: every one of them is a potential threat and befriending them could impair his judgement.

Daisy and Nate don't have much to do with each other except for the five minutes when they're shifts overlap at handover. He passes the torch over to her - like a baton - always with a smirk on his face, and she asks him for a full report of the day, which he gives reluctantly. It's the only interaction they have... until strange things begin to happen at the museum.

Daisy notices priceless objects are going missing but then reappearing, with no explanation (and nothing showing on the CCTV, which is why she doesn't trust technology). No one believes her except Nate, and he agrees to help her solve the mystery.

They soon discover they have a lot more in common than they realised... and their investigations uncover more than just the truth. Could they have feelings for one another?

Thanks to Trapeze and Netgalley for the early review copy in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a book I had asked for on the basis of other people talking about it on Twitter and I'm so very glad I did. The main characters are loveable from the beginning and Daisy was the perfect main character. Ideal for fans of Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine and Beth O'Leary's The FlatShare. A perfect cuddle of a book.

I really wanted to read this then wasn't sure once I got started purely because it's not my normal thing but...I loved it. It's not what I was expecting that's for sure. Good writing, an interesting enough narrative to keep me flipping the pages but the characters! Barnett certainly packs a literary punch in the development of his MCs! I adored Daisy, a few raisins short of a fruitcake but when you drill down it's easy to see why. Perfect beach read.