Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Rural Affair-Catherine Alliott

A Rural Affair


Catherine Alliott

Sourcebooks, Mar 6 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9781402260117



A recent widow, Poppy Shilling concludes she erred when she married Phil who died when blue ice hit him as he biked. Poppy came to her belief upon learning of Phil’s clandestine other life. Poppy calls her neighbor Jennie who along with Angie and Peggy arrives quickly. Besides feeling guilt over wanting Phil dead, she worries how their two young children (Clemmie and Archie) will cope. Poppy hopes to have fun dating men but not committing.



Jennie struggles with the behavior of her spouse the Toad; while Angie has separated from her husband; and Peggy smokes to hide her loneliness. While her friends commiserate with her loss, Poppy is attracted to a man who has a glamorous woman in his life that a mother of two cannot compete with, but also has a secret admirer.



This is an amusing British character study that sets the tone with the discussion on dreaming of dead husbands between Poppy and Jennie. The breezy storyline is fast-paced though the dark humor supersedes plausibility starting with the sixth death in decades from the friendly skies. Readers will enjoy the mother of two seeking A Rural Affair, but relearning how convoluted relationships are.



Harriet Klausner

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