Hope, Sam, Virginia and Nicole are four women with the biggest aim possible - they want to start over. Hope and Virginia have moved to a small village in Kerry for different reasons - mother-of-two Hope to follow her husband who is pursuing his dream of becoming a writer, empty-nester Virginia to change her life after the death of her husband. Sam and Nicole are in the music business in London. Nicole is a young wannabe singer on the way up, Sam is a 40-year-old hard-nosed executive who wants out.
With four other women's mass-market books under her belt, Kelly has got the formula down pat and she has broadened her market by positioning the female foursome at different stages in their lives. She switches effortlessly between the women's stories and between the glamour of the London music scene and the Kerry backwater. The dialogue is lively and the situations easily identifiable. At 656 pages it's a big, enjoyable, undemanding read.
Bernice Harrison is an Irish Times columnist
