In the Wee Small Hours

The sequel to "The Only Boy For Me", this continues the story of Annie Baker, a single mother of 6-year-old Charlie, a production assistant for a boss who makes creative and sometimes madcap TV commercials, whose hectic life is made further so when former flame Mack returns from New York and joins her boss's company as a partner.

I've read six of Gil McNeil's books now, and they all have the following commonalities: A plucky, good-hearted single mother main character who is firstly devoted to providing a good and simple and loving life for her child(ren). A small and strong circle of friends who usually consist of a best friend who is also a single mother (but not always single), and another who is a strong-willed and glamorously show more successful woman who wonders about marriage and children, but for now is happy to play the field and live vicariously through our main character. A brother or sister, newly married or a new parent, with a deep friendship bond under the clever sibling banter. A mother or grandmother who is loving, supportive and truly proud of the choices our heroine has made. There are no true villains, but there is generally a PTA leader who is a harridan and delights in belittling our main character. And there is generally a love interest, who banters with our heroine in a manner reminiscent of Tracy and Hepburn, but doesn't have a snowball's chance until he realizes that our heroine will always see her best role as that of a good mother.

Sometimes McNeil's books merge confusingly in my memory, so consistent are these similarities. But the books are so well-written, with such heart and style and wit and characters that I really come to care about, that it doesn't really matter. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and look forward to more. show less

Here Annie works as a producer of TV advertisements (I think) while parenting her precocious and extremely rude son Charlie and caring for her eccentric Uncle Monty.

I enjoyed this one less than 'Stand by Your Man', partly because I found the way Annie let her son speak to her continually disconcerting and partly because there is no way the romantic relationship she ends up with will last 5 minutes.