From Publishers Weekly
Fans of the bestselling Binchy will be grateful that the basic formula is still intact-decent people pulling through hard times-and that some favorite characters from previous novels reappear: Cathy Scarlet from Scarlet Feather, Nora from Evening Class, Ria from Tara Road and others. When Dubliner Ella Brady's affair with a married financial consultant turns sour-he bilks his clients of their hard-earned money and then hightails it to Spain-she decides to throw herself into something productive: she agrees to help with a documentary about Quentins, a once-modest Dublin restaurant whose increasing success and sophistication over the past 30 years mirrors the changing fortunes of the city itself. Ella collects stories of customers who recall celebrating life's milestones at Quentins. These vignettes (about a man who learns he's to be a grandfather, a girl who finishes school with honors, and other regular folks) are meant to fill out the too-thin tale, but most of them end a little too neatly to be satisfying. Binchy doesn't exactly trade in suspense (can there ever be any doubt that a Binchy heroine will do the right thing? Or that goodness will ultimately be rewarded?), but this novel is more tepid than other works in her oeuvre. Still, readers who love hardworking, honest-living characters with strong values can get their fix here.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In Binchy's latest, fans will encounter familiar characters from Evening Class, Tara Road, and Scarlet Feather-which is sometimes a distraction. The novel primarily chronicles Ella Brady and her involvement with Dublin's finest restaurant, Quentins. Ella wants to make a documentary film about Quentins that will capture the dramas revolving around restaurant life. The film's financial backer, Derry King, becomes Ella's suitor after she has a terrible experience with a married, thieving investment advisor. This advisor-and his possible suicide-brings a bit of suspense to an otherwise ordinary tale. Not Binchy's best, this will still certainly be demanded by your patrons. Recommended for all public libraries. [Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, and BOMC main selections.]-Carol J. Bissett, New Braunfels P.L., T.
--Carol J. Bissett, New Braunfels P.L., TXCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
