Having recently read a number of books by American authors, set in the States, it made a welcome change to read something set a bit closer to home (Ireland) and stumble across some familiar words like Tesco and Jaffa Cakes!
This was an enjoyable chick-lit set in Dublin – Zoe, a computer technician, moves there from England to get away from bad memories of an unscrupulous boyfriend. She receives a phone call one evening from the publicist of a rather engaging, colourful, and of course, good-looking TV gardener, Larry Harte, asking if she might be able to assist with the biography of his even more colourful, deceased father, who died suddenly in the mid-seventies. What connection does she have with this man, how can she possibly help and how can she resist the rather lovely Larry?
I was instantly drawn into this book, and it was not long before I got to CPID status (Couldn’t Put It Down)! The characters are well-drawn and make up a delightful mixed bag of quirky, comic, weird, and obsessive. Zoe is extremely likeable – she is patient, tolerant, funny and resolute; the circumstances leading to her departure from England are portrayed to lend her just the right amount of sympathy; facts from the past, both from 34 years ago, clarifying Zoe’s connection to Larry and from 4 years ago, revealing the start – and finish – of her relationship with her boyfriend, run neatly and smoothly alongside the narrative time and all three timeframes bring you to the end with satisfactory explanations, leaving no stone unturned.
I loved Kate’s easy-going style and the veil of gentle Irish humour made this a delightful and entertaining read. Highly recommended.
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