The Reluctant Landlady
by Bernadette Strachan
Flame $112
Evie Crump likes to think of herself as a glamorous actress, but the only job she can get is playing a badger and the only man in her life is her gay best friend. Then, she becomes the unexpected beneficiary of the will of an old family friend. Suddenly, she's the owner of a Victorian mansion in London. The only problem is that her inheritance comes with hefty strings attached. The house is divided into four flats, and three contain tenants who can't be evicted. So, Evie has also inherited a tribe of miscreants, and, worse, a responsibility towards them. Try as she might to concentrate her mind on rescuing her dismal acting career and reviving her moribund love life, she finds herself increasingly sucked into the lives, loves and obsessions of her over-extended and dysfunctional new family.