2014 romance and light mystery. Jenny Dove has a severe stutter and
chronic lack of self-confidence; she's on the verge of suicide when
something appears to her and tells her not to. Eventually, she will
have to make something of herself.
It's a funny story with colourful characters; but it's also a
story of smiling menace and deceptive friendliness. Russell Checkland
admits that he's marrying her for mutual convenience, as he needs her
money and he thinks she needs to get out of her uncle and aunt's
house, but he's also obsessed with her cousin Fran and he doesn't make
any promises he doesn't intend to keep. Meanwhile aunt and uncle are
increasingly concerned about the way Jenny seems to be suffering a
series of near-fatal "accidents" after she moves out…
There's a cheerful defiance of genre expectations, even as trappings
of romance and mystery are used where they fit the story. Yes, the
household gradually fills up with waifs, strays and hopeless cases,
but each of them is an individual and their reasons for being there
are individually important.
‘And you've nothing to be ashamed of, Mrs C. Your cooking made me
the man I am today.’
Silence as his household contemplated the man he was today.
‘No,’ said Mrs Crisp, firmly. ‘You’re not putting all the blame on
me.’
This is a story not about the fantasy of a perfect life but about how
one can perhaps make a good life out of even an unpromising situation.
Highly recommended.