Michelle Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 When Susie decides to invite her old school friends for a reunion she tells herself that it's just about showing off. It's about letting Amanda, Izzy and Tamsin, see how well she's done, with her successful career as an artist, her gorgeous house in France, her deliciously louche boyfriend. But the truth is that this is a dark plan. A plan that could make or break her seemingly perfect life!and she knows it. As the old friends gather at Susie's for a long weekend of catching up and comparisons, it is clear that despite their lives having taken very different turns, they are all still haunted by a dark and common past. They each know that up until now they have been treading water - waiting for the inevitable moment when they have to face the truth. The question is, now that the time has come, who will sink and who will swim? I've recently read quite a few books about a group of friends, as well as a few about reunions.. so I knew that this one would have to offer me something a little different to stand out, which it did. The key for me were the characters.. the four friends weren't stereotypical, but complex, and flawed, and this made them very human, and very believable. Set in the French countryside, which sounds wonderful, the story flicks back and forth between their school friendship, and the present day reunion, gradually revealing their past secrets, and how that had affected the people they were today. The author doesn't try to rely on humour, but rather simple good story telling. I've read a few reviews that criticise the ending of this book, but for me it worked just fine, once again offering some rather realistic outcomes. This is definitely an author that I will be looking out for again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I read Backpack when it first came out, and thought it was quite good, but then picked up Cuban Heels in a charity shop, but put it down after about 80 pages and haven't picked it up since. It didn't grab my attention at all, and it's put me off reading any more of her novels. Based on these reviews, I might give this one a go, and see if she can win me back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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