We are Family Book

The fifth tome from the Lloyd/Rees writing duo opens with pretty Laurie Vale enjoying her very own private view in a chic London gallery. Within two pages we learn the key facts: Laurie is on the slow road to recovery from an emotionally crippling holiday romance; this is her last stab at making her living from her painting; and she feels guilty that she doesn't see more of her recently widowed father. And then a chance phone call blows her life apart when an Aunt she didn¹t know existed informs her that her Uncle has just died.But before we can discover more, the scene shifts. It is half a century ago in a small coastal village somewhere in North Devon. Laurie's father and sister are living with their disabled mother above the family run shop. A family feud of monumental proportions has torn the Vale and Glover families apart so that when Laurie's Aunt begins stepping out with handsome young Tony Glover, you just know that no good will come of it. Presumably, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees have taken one half of the story each--regular readers may even be able to work out whose is the 1950s drama and whose the modern day denouement. While there is as much action, surprise twists and skeletons in cupboards packed into We are Family as a month of bumper edition episodes of Eastenders, it is to the authors' credit that they manage to sustain a powerful storyline with hard-edged realism.The surprises are (mostly) genuinely unexpected: Lloyd/Rees do not shirk from tragedies and unhappy turn of events. We are Family is not a jolly holiday with neatly tied storylines. For fans and those looking for a cracking, fast-paced read, this will hit the right buttons.--Carey GreenRead More