Friday, 26 July 2013

Easy Weekend Reads… ‘The Honey Queen’ by Cathy Kelly


Sunday Times bestseller, Cathy Kelly, returns with her latest book The Honey Queen.  In true Kelly style, the characters are believable, immediately likeable, and engaging.   The story is beautifully crafted with just enough tension to make it comfortable to read and a page-turner at the same time.

The novel follows three main characters: Peggy, a young woman desperate to escape her past by setting up a knitting shop in a town far from her family; Francesca, a career woman on the verge of menopause and retrenchment; and Australian born Lillie, whose husband’s death awakens an intense need to return to her birthplace and discover her roots. 

Kelly has a wonderful ability to write about the everyday lives of women in a way that makes it nearly impossible to put the book down.  Like her last novel, The House on Willow Street, she uses the narrative to raise awareness about the rights of women in domestic violence situations.  Through Peggy, who tries to convince her mother to leave the family home and start a new life, Kelly again explores the fear of staying, the fear of leaving, and the eventual relief when the cycle is broken. 

The author’s deep love of true family and community shines through the narrative.  The reader is transported into the realistic but loveable town of Redstone and into the innermost thoughts of her characters as they try to build good lives and genuine relationships. 

Amanda G

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