Welcome to today's post which features Karen Ross' novel, Five Wakes and a Wedding.
Undertaker Nina Sherwood is full of good advice. For
example, never wear lip gloss when you’re scattering ashes.
Nina is your average 30-year-old with a steady job, a nice
home – and dead bodies in her basement. As an undertaker, she often prefers the
company of the dead to the living – they’re obliging, good listeners and take
secrets to the grave.
Nina is on a one-woman mission to persuade her peers that
passing on is just another part of life. But the residents of Primrose Hill are
adamant that a funeral parlour is the last thing they need… and they will stop
at nothing to close down her dearly beloved shop.
When Nina’s ‘big break’ funeral turns out to be a prank, it
seems like it’s the final nail in the coffin for her new business. That is,
until a (tall, dark and) mysterious investor shows up out of the blue, and she
decides to take a leap of faith.
Because, after all, it’s her funeral…
The perfect antidote to all those books about weddings, this
book will make you laugh until you cry, perfect for fans of Zara Stoneley’s
Bridesmaids, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Good Place.
My Thoughts
There is quite a different feel about this romcom- probably because it is set around an Undertakers! There are plenty of light moments and amusing characters who appear and Nina's characters is so down to earth. She is genuinely funny and I enjoyed her attitude to life and death, seeing her business as a form of social work. She is empathetic towards her clients and you can see how approachable she is. In this 'RomCom Noir', you get to see the effect that the funeral business can have on a community. Not everybody welcomes it.
Despite its subject matter, this has an uplifting mood with a quick pace and amusing moments. It is an enjoyable read which is upbeat and does make you think a little. There is also a good portion of romance to add to the mix and a little jeopardy thrown in.
In short: Light and shade.
About the Author
As a former journalist, broadcaster and advertising
copywriter, Karen Ross has followed a fairly traditional path into writing
fiction. Five Wakes and a Wedding is
her fourth book, and like its predecessors, the novel has two common threads: the setting is London’s Primrose Hill –
Karen’s own neighbourhood – and one of the characters is a dog . . . this time
he’s called Chopper and he’s almost the same size as a Shetland Pony.
Karen has been self-employed for many years, and continues
to work as a marketing consultant, in the absence of an offer to manage
Tottenham Hotspur. By way of
credentials, her other ‘job’ is trading profitably on the world’s first
football stockmarket, a platform called Football Index, where you buy and sell
players with real money.
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