bought in a charity shop for BC - I couldn't resist ;-)

Bee Bearhorn had a number-one hit single in 1985 - and was never heard of again. Fifteen years later, she is found dead in her flat and nobody seems to care...But Ana Wills always day-dreamed about the exotic half-sister she hasn't seen in years. And when she comes to London to clear Bee's flat, she uncovers a life more exotic than she imagined: a secret country cottage, mysterious weekends away, and even a missing cat. With Bee's closest friends - mad Lol and strong, silent Flint - Ana sets out to discover exactly what did happen to Bee Bearhorn, the one-hit wonder...

Thank you sooo much for sending this WishList book as a RABCK.
I have read another book my Ms Jewell that I enjoyed, and this seems to be from her almost-chick-lit period... however, it looks interestingly thrilling!
Thanks, you have been most generous!!

Reserved for Ythan, for the European WishList Tag Game. I might read it first.

Currently reading it... and pleasantly surprised so far. :)

As I said in a previous post, this seems to be from Ms Jewell's "almost-chick-lit" period, before writing great psychological thrillers.
Therefore, there are chick-lit classics (the big handsome man, the main female character fantasizing about him), but also a very interesting plot regarding the search for and research into the life of Ana's half-sister, a one-hit-wonder singer who she did not know too well and has committed suicide.
This is really interesting and well written; I have rescued some quotes which resonate with me:
-"Sometimes you need to take yourself out of a familiar situation and throw yourself into the unknown to get to know yourself properly, to find out who you really are." (From the letter which opens and closes the novel.)
-"Ana decided that she liked the anonymity of London's streets, where you could be tall or short, black or white, have pink hair or pierced cheeks and still nobody gave you so much as a second glance." (So true, in my own experience!)
-"Can I tell you the worst thing about getting old, Ana? They try to make out that ageing is all about gaining... gaining experience, wisdom, happiness, all that. They're lying. All getting older is about is loss. Losing things. Losing your hair, your figure, your looks. Losing your sight. Losing your hearing. Losing your mother, losing your father. Losing time to experience things. Losing touch with people, losing your mind. And the worst thing of all... losing memories. The more time you've got to look back on, the less you remember."
-"These moments, thought Bee, these moments in life, this soap-opera moments... they look so exciting when you see them on the television, at the cinema. But when you're actually living them, they're just so horribly hollow and bleak. And kind of, well... bland."
-"I really think that when you haven't appreciated people while they're living, you've got no right to mourn them when they're dead." (I could not agree more!)
I have to mention the sub-plot with Bee's cat... I loved it!
So don't judge this book by its cover, it kept me interested until the end, and its characters are well-described and life-like... And as shown by the quotes, there are extremely wise comments on life, family, feelings in general...
Thanks for sharing this book with me, entengrütze... and thanks to Ythan's WishList which motivated me to read it, it will be on its way to you very soon. :)

Sent today to Ythan; thanks for being so patient, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did. :)

Arrived safe and sound.

Thanks very much.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as her other books but the second-half made up for the slower first half.

Shepparm picked this book from greenbadger's Alphabet VBB - Round 29.

collected from the Alphabet VBB. May take some time to read it but think I will enjoy it.

This was different from other books by same author but I really enjoyed it. The first half when the characters were being introduced was very slow but the second half makes up for that so keep going. I loved the way she weaved strands of the story together to develop a more rounded character for Bee.

Now travelling as part of the number sweep.

hello previous readers - so cool ot catch a book that has been in your hands :)

thank you shepparm so much for sending me this novel for the numerical sweepstakes

i do not think i have ever read a book by lisa jewell, tho i have sent one of her earlier novels as a birthday wishlist gift this year

i like the strawberry postcard - it is summer here and berry season - yum

thanks again
happy reading

;)