An easy, fast read that improved in the second half. We are introduced to a number of love lost characters who eventually gather at Buffy's run down hotel. To begin with they seemed somewhat pathetic lot, but as the story gathers pace, they all come out of their shells. Predictable, yes, but in these extraordinary days, a lot to be said for something light and frothy.
The writing, as with all this author's books, is no literary masterpiece, and at times even seemed lazy. Maybe she was trying too hard to be light-hearted. But Deborah Moggach knows how to tell a good story. There are the odd twists along the way to keep us guessing, but the book works best when it delves into the depths of human relationships. There is a classic section where only women sign up for a course on cooking, each one hoping that all the others would obviously be men.
Buffy's friend Harold tells him his first wife Doris was "a plate thrower ..... but I probably deserved it. I'm a lot easier to live with now". Me too.
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