Genre: Contemporary/Literary Fiction
Something To Tell You By Lucy Diamond
Frankie had never given the fact that she had an absent birth father a thought. For many years, it had just been her & her mother Kathy. Then Kathy married Gareth whom Frankie loved like a father anyway. It wasn't until Kathy passed away & her daughter found a letter penned in Kathy's handwriting, which detailed her real fathers name & address, Frankie began to wonder about him.....
Harry found himself sitting in his front room , the day after his & Jeanies Golden Wedding anniversary. He looked sheepish, surrounded by his wife & four children, all waiting for some answers. He'd known exactly who she was the minute he'd seen her, she looked so much like her mother, but he'd not had time to get even a telephone number from her, only a first name, Frankie. Would he ever see her again?
Frankie realised she had been rash, impetuous & that she should have written a letter as Craig had suggested, she had thought it would be better face to face, but it really hadn't gone as planned......meanwhile what were the consequences for Harry & his family, her step siblings (if indeed she had any, by the number of people who were there, she guessed she might). Would they be happy to find out that they had a sister, & what secrets were they & their partners hiding themselves?
This story is all about family & the consequences of the actions of one member, that now seem to them to have happened so long ago.
I have no criticism of this book whatsoever. It is easy to read, (took me four days) with likeable & relatable characters. The Mortimers have a fantastic, warm family dynamic & all the characters were easy to conjure up in my imagination as I read, either as people I know or fictional faces.
The only thing I queried throughout the whole book was why Paula didn't attempt to contact Frankie via her website & chose instead to go through her agent, but that's finicky & by the by. I cheered for Jeanie at the airport when she decided to go it alone. This 70 something woman who struck me as being part of a traditional old fashioned couple being angry & proud enough to strike out on her own made me smile & it is written humorously. I was also angry with John & sad for Robyn & really wanted to be friends with Paula. Ok, so there was one other tiny point that I took issue with....I didn't understand why Bunny would have agreed to return to her home town to deliver her 'SlimmerYou' presentation, with all the ghosts from the past that she'd left behind, but it made a very good twist to the story.
Frankie, Craig & the slightly oddly named toddler Fergus (bless him) - even Frankie thinks so! - should have their own novel. I thought that they were a lovely little family unit, but was somewhat weary of Craig's temper & that it scares Frankie, leading her to wonder if 'this is what Julia had to put up with'. In my opinion, Craig was very lucky to have Frankie, otherwise, the outcome of that story may have been very different.
Overall, a very entertaining story, which is heartwarming, humorous & intriguing, with one or two surprising moments & unexpected scenarios. I was sad to finish this novel & will no doubt read it again in years to come......& certainly be recommending it to other Lucy Diamond fans.
Pssst......there is a really good Q & A in the back of 'Something To Tell You' about Lucy's thoughts on the characters, her writing & the lady herself. x
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