Best of Friends
by Cathy Kelly
HarperCollins $90
Four women from the Irish town of Dunmore explore the meaning of friendship. Abby has a successful TV career, but her 17-year marriage is shaky. Her teenage daughter, Jess, thinks her classmates have life all figured out, while she's full of self doubt, and thinks she'll never find a boyfriend. Lizzie is always ready to help anyone - her grown-up children, her friends, even her ex-husband - but forgets to look after herself. And Erin has just come back to Ireland after eight years in Chicago, but is she ready for small-town life again? When tragedy strikes, it rocks all their lives. They're drawn together and realise life is for living. The story oozes sentimentality and Cathy Kelly works overtime tugging at the heartstrings. Although well written, it's strictly for those with an appetite for sugar-loaded soap operas.
