The Heart of Winter

Catch up with the Craig family from ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ and Jodi from ‘Perfect Wives’ by reading this warm family saga about Holly and Paddy Craig and their three children, Lainey, the oldest sibling, Pippa, the youngest and Joey their only son.

At the beginning of the story the family are getting their fabulous home in the ‘get away from it all’ countryside, Huntersbrook House ready for opening day. They are manically busy, as they want their inaugural event to be very soon, with publicity and rave reports to hopefully attract lots of Christmas bookings: events, wedding, and parties – just anything really. With views to die for and a fully pristine and luxury venue on offer, they are hoping their combined family investments will enable them to keep their home ‘in the family’ and make decent livings for the full time family staff members.

Everyone has been industrious and great progress had been achieved. Well, everyone but Pippa of course. She alone has been too busy to be ‘hands on’. She is partying like crazy, has fallen in love with someone completely unsuitable and is being blackmailed by Missy, a trainee at the huge and magnificent department store where Pippa works. Missy is also the spoilt daughter of the store’s filthy-rich owner. Pippa has to keep in with her or risk being sacked. Missy has also visited Huntersbrook House and has dangled a carrot under Pippa’s nose. She is coming up to her thirtieth birthday and may want to hire Huntersbrook House for her massive birthday bash – rooms for an overnight stay and all. This could be the happy break her family has been hoping for. So Pippa reluctantly falls in with naughty and not very nice Missy, getting in deeper and deeper: in trouble that is and knowing it.

Lainey and husband Matt are blissfully in love. Lainey loves being a mother and is desperate to add to their family. She can see herself with a big family, all equally loved and the very centre of her life. She is highly committed to the Huntersbrook House venture and has even booked herself in at a renowned cookery school in the New Year, hopefully saving costs of having to hire caterers for each event. She and her brother’s girlfriend, bohemian Skye, have been the guiding lights with the refurbishment project and are dying to get the venture up and running. Meanwhile Joey is hoping to make something of himself in the City as well as being very hands-on in their new business. He may be in line for a huge promotion if only he can put in the time for his boss. But things don’t always turn out as you have hoped for and life can be very cruel, as you will find out in this warm-hearted family saga.

So it’s testing times for the Craigs. There are shocks in store, disappointments and a plethora of secrets waiting to tumble out, together with not one, but two heartening bookings that promise to make a name for their beloved family home. Emma Hannigan has created an easy to read and page turning novel, beautifully crafted and with characters that are both familiar but still with the ability to surprise you. Her storytelling is seamless and there lots of joy, friendship, forgiveness and love in this story. I would like to thank Netgalley and Hachette Books for my copy of ‘The Heart of Winter’, sent out to me in return for an honest review. I can recommend this novel as a good read within the genre and a perfect festive gift for your loved ones.