The Woman Who Ran For The Hills
Except the ‘wonderful man’ turns out to have a secret that ruins everything… Shocked and devastated, Jen doesn’t know what to do. So, she packs her bags and runs for the hills – away from her problems, all the way to her childhood home in Scotland and the safety of her dad.
But her dad is a changed man. Busy with his girlfriend, golf, and G&Ts, he doesn’t have time for Jen’s worries. And she can’t see her sister, Isla, who she fell out with years ago.
So, Jen rekindles friendships with her old school pals, Alison and Rory. They’re juggling work and young families, but still find time to take her out and set her up with some terrible dates. The more time she spends with Rory and his daughters, the more Jen thinks there could be something big missing from her life. But could she ever go back to small-town life? And can she forgive what happened in the past? Should a good friend become something more?
The biggest question for Jen is – will she try to solve her problems, or will she cut and run for the hills again?
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
And by the way, Jen, if you’re going to start dating again and having a whole Exciting Sexy Life with Multiple New Men, don’t expect to turn up here and be able to go on about it. Staying married is hard enough without the single friends bragging about last night with Mr Musical Fingers they found on Tinder.
‘Alison, there is not going to be any dating yet, I can promise you that,’ I tell her truthfully. ‘Too soon?’ she asks. ‘Definitely too soon,’ I confirm. ‘I’m burned… it could be years before I play with those matches again.’
‘You need to take care of yourself, my girl…’ ‘Yes, thanks, Wattie, I’m trying to do that.’ ‘I’ve seen it so many times before with the sows…’ ‘The sows?!’ Alison says, astonished. ‘This is not the same! Wattie, please stop talking.’ ‘Well, no.’ Wattie rubs his chin, deep in thought. He hasn’t taken off his hat, which I suspect is not actually a hat but a knitted and very battered tea cosy. ‘But the sows,’ he goes on, ‘when their piglets go, they can get moody, even ferocious. I’ve even seen them attack other mothers and eat their young. Not nice. So you must be careful, Jennifer, you don’t want to let that happen to you.’ I nod solemnly. Maybe I should feel offended, but it’s too funny. ‘Wattie, I promise, I will not eat your children. OK?’
I’m already loving Elaine. She is beautifully dressed in 1950s vintage. Her orangey hair is even rolled up at the front into one of those 1950s dos. She looks like a wonderful mix of Doris Day, doll and alien space lady.
We kissed… and it was a bit weird,’ he says. ‘I mean the kissing itself wasn’t weird, that was really quite nice. It was the fact that we were kissing. It’s all been so long. I’ve forgotten how to do even snogging. I’m like a thirteen-year-old. I might need to practise on my hand. Like in primary school…
My Review:
I giggle-snorted, smirked, and hooted with glee while reading this delightfully witty tale. I have a new favorite author and her name is Carmen Reid. Her writing sparkled with clever and amusing inner musings as well as insightful revelations and observations. Her humorous descriptions pulled vivid visuals to my mind’s eye that had me barking a laugh more than once.
This may explain her lifelong phobia of cows and abiding interest in cities, department stores, books, the cinema, and newspapers.
She is currently working on her eighth novel for grown-ups and her third novel for teenagers. Well, she likes to keep busy.
Carmen did once study English Literature at University College London, but, ignoring everything she’d learned, she spent most of her 20s working as a local, regional, and then national newspaper reporter.
Knowing deep down that she was supposed to be an author, not a journo, she left her day job to have a baby and write her first novel. (Hey, and just four sleepless, penniless years later it was published!)
Although there is a corner of her heart that will always belong to London (property developers welcome) she now lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with her husband, Thomas, and two children, Sam and Claudie, plus Jimmy the (lunatic) Jack Russell and Clive, Orangey and Gorcha, the fish.
Fortunately, her hobbies are cooking, cleaning, arguing about whose turn it is to walk the dog, clean the fish tank, take out the rubbish, do the laundry… and so on.
