A very enjoyable novel featuring a four-generation family. The grandmother Kate is the main protagonist. There are some excellent, believable characters and a clear, gentle plot with many interesting sub-plots.

I first read it in 2001 and had totally forgotten the story when I re-read it eighteen years later. So there were some surprises that I didn't see coming - and they worked very well.

Great writing, good pace, some light humour and some very moving scenes. Almost impossible to put down.

This book works as a kind of sequel to 'A Price for Everything', with some of the characters from that appearing as minor ones in this novel.

Highly recommended to anyone who likes women's fiction.

Full review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2019/12/picking-up-pieces-by-mary-sheepshan... ( )

Recent widow, daughter (Joanna), Mother-in-law (Cecile), granddaughter (Harriet) - dead husband, Oliver, rich, powerful and not nice, but idolized by Joanna, who doesn't get along with her mother or her daughter. Pretty well told story of family secrets and eventual resolutions of misunderstood relationships. ( )

(This is a non-spoiler review)

This is an attention holding, if predictable, formula romance with strong extended family characters dealing with personal issues. It "moves" a little faster than Pilcher and is a bit edgier than the Binchey I've read. There's a mystery or two woven in with skill to keep the pages turning.

I enjoyed the fact that the main female character is in her mid-50s and unexpectedly comes across a chance for romance while restructuring her life on the one-year anniversary of her husband's death. She also has to consider her daughter's emotional problems, which in turn have caused problems for her granddaughter who she dearly loves.

A satisfying read and slice of (upscale) modern life in the Yorkshire countryside. ( )