It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from Kate Galley, Old Girls Behaving Badly, and sharing my review. Published by Boldwood Books on 13th May, it’s now available as an e-book (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook too. Many thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the tour invitation and the support, and to publishers Boldwood for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
Now how on earth haven’t I read one of Kate’s books before? You’ll know how I always look for books that have older characters I find it rather easier to identify with while proving it’s certainly never too late, but both The Second Chance Holiday Club and The Golden Girls’ Road Trip entirely escaped my usually well-tuned radar, and have both now been added to my bulging kindle to catch up with later. Time to put things right though, and read and review her latest – and I was rather looking forward to meeting Gina and Dot…
Something old, something new, something stolen…?
Gina Knight is looking forward to the prospect of retirement with her husband of forty-three years. Until, to her surprise, said husband decides he needs to ‘find himself’ – alone – and disappears to Santa Fe, leaving divorce papers in his wake.
Now Gina needs a new role in life, not to mention somewhere to live, so she applies for the position of Companion to elderly Dorothy Reed. At eighty-nine, ‘Dot’ needs someone to help her around the house – or at least, her family seems to think so. Her companion’s first role would be to accompany Dot for a week-long extravagant wedding party.
But when Georgina arrives at the large Norfolk estate where the wedding will take place, she quickly discovers Dot has an ulterior motive for hiring her. While the other guests are busy sipping champagne and playing croquet, Dot needs Georgina to help her solve a mystery – about a missing painting, which she believes is hidden somewhere in the house.
Because, after all, who would suspect two old ladies of getting up to mischief?
A delightfully heartwarming and funny story that proves it’s never too late to change the habits of a lifetime, perfect for fans of Judy Leigh, Hazel Prior and Maddie Please.
At the age of seventy-one and after over forty years of marriage, could there be anything more demoralising than to be told by your departing husband that you’re “beige and unexciting”? Faced with forced changes to her life, Gina answers an advertisement for a live-in companion – something eighty-nine year old Dot’s family think she’s in need of, but she’s equally determined she doesn’t. But, with her background in art history, she does think Gina’ll be just perfect to help her solve a mystery – the theft of a painting that resulted in her husband’s death – and bring the villain behind it to justice.
All of which comes as rather a surprise to Gina – who finds herself in a grand house on the Norfolk estate where they’re attending a family wedding party, desperately searching for evidence. Dot watches her back – she’ll text her if she’s in danger of discovery, if she can remember to charge her phone – and she also has some dubious “help” from Dot’s tech-obsessed teenage granddaughter Juliet.
As a cosy mystery, I thought the whole story was brilliantly told – mostly from Gina’s perspective, in her clear and likeable voice, as she frequently finds herself well outside her personal comfort zone, but with occasional chapters through Dot’s critical eyes. There’s a suitably large cast of characters – all really well drawn – many of them with well-hidden secrets and other agendas, and plentiful red herrings and surprises along the way as Dot’s plan comes ever closer to fruition.
But in addition to the mystery itself, this book was tremendous fun. Host Leonard is a magnificently over-the top character intent on making the wedding party one to remember, with activities planned for every waking hour – and that’s how Gina finds herself roaring cross-country on a quad bike with Dot clinging on the back. The second chance elements of the story aren’t the usual romance – instead, there’s a focus on moving forward, finding friendship, recovering self-belief, and being able to look forward to what the future might hold. And there’s certainly a considerable emphasis on never being too old for some fun – in fact, for just about anything you could think of.
As well as being an intriguing and page-turning mystery with a distinctly uncertain outcome, this really was such an uplifting read, with a few emotional moments and plenty of gentle laughter along the way – and if the author decides to continue Gina and Dot’s adventures together, I’ll be looking forward to reading more. An unexpected delight – and a book I’d certainly be happy to recommend to others.
About the author
Kate Galley writes UpLit and Bookclub fiction full of heart and humour. The older generation are at the centre of her stories and are usually wrapped up in a mystery.
She lives with her family in Buckinghamshire and works part time as a mobile hairdresser in the surrounding Chiltern villages.In her spare time she crochets blankets, knits jumpers and also disappears into her workshop to play with kiln formed glass.
Kate is the author of The Second Chance Holiday Club – which has been optioned for TV – and The Golden Girls’ Road Trip.
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Sounds great fun Anne!