Another enjoyable book by Marcia Willett ( )

This story was charming from start to finish. I loved the eccentric and quirky characters. The strong bond of friendship that lasted with these characters was wonderful to read about. This is a wonderful book to take along on vacation to sit by the beach or fireplace and just enjoy a good solid read.

I got to read an early copy of this from NetGalley. So, some of my comments are about format and that may very well be corrected.

Most importantly I want to say that I love the character Mungo. He's fantastic and he's the kind of person everyone should want as a friend. He's as loyal as it gets and he's fun to be around too.

Mungo is a retired actor who lives in a house on his brother's property. They've shared a lot of friends throughout the years.
One day, his friend Kit contacts him about wanting to come for a visit. He's never sure what to expect with Kit.
When she arrives, she confides in Mungo about the return of her lost love Jake. He's contacted he'd after many years of silence and she's not sure whether to give him another chance.

I found two things to be confusing in this story:
Who was talking
What year it was

There were random "appearances" from long deceased Izzy and the timeframes bounced around from present to past.

I thought this had potential to be a better story with a few format tweaks:
Let us know what year it is right off the bat
Make clear which character is talking

There were a lot of characters in the book and I spent too much time trying to keep them straight. In the scheme of things, what did I learn from having Mags in the book? Or the man in town writing his novel? I'm not sure.

But I didn't put the book down because I had to stick with Mungo. Loved his character. He's truly the heart of the whole story. ( )

Retired actor Sir Mungo resides in the quiet countryside of Devon, England. He lives on a home on the estate owned by his brother Archie and his wife Camilla. This property was handed down by their parents disproportionately due to Mungo’s father being unhappy with Mungo’s career choices and lifestyle. Archie and Camilla are facing financial issues and have started to take on tenants. Some of these tenants have interesting backgrounds and become intertwined in the story.

One of Mungo’s oldest friend’s, Kit, is staying with him for the summer. Their friendship began when they were both starting their careers in the theatre. Over the years their relationship bloomed as they shared success and failures. Kit is seeking advice about a decision to reconnect with a long lost love. He is now a widower and for once the time seems right to restart their relationship.

The book is about friendships that survive the test of time. Sometimes the bonds between lifelong friends are deeper than family. I enjoyed this nicely paced book by Marcia Willett. ( )

There's quite a cast in this book, some of whom appear in previous novels by the same author; yet it’s not necessary to have read any of them. She succeeds in introducing them without annoying either a new or old reader by unnecessary back-story, and they're all memorable, albeit a bit caricatured at times.

There's just enough description to give an overview of each scene in this book, from the point of view of her various viewpoint characters, yet without such sensory details becoming tedious. There doesn’t seem to be much plot to start with; just a couple of women pondering possible romances. But this belies the contrast, the tension that arises, and the many other subplots that weave around them.

As always, Marcia Willett keeps her language clean without detracting from realism, and also ensures that bedroom doors remain closed. The novel looks at some serious issues and is quite thought-provoking, but tempered with some satirical humour from a would-be novelist, and some delightful observations from a small boy.

Four-and-a-half stars would be fairer.
( )