All Good Things by Amanda Prowse

Book Blurb
Daisy Harrop has always felt like she exists in the background, and since her mother stopped getting out of bed, her life has come to a complete standstill. Daisy would give anything to leave the shabbiest house on the street and be more like the golden Kelleways next door, with their perfectly raked driveway and flourishing rose garden…

Winnie Kelleway is proud of the beautiful family she’s built. They’ve had their ups and downs―hasn’t everyone? But this weekend, celebrating her golden wedding anniversary is truly proof of their happiness, a joyful gathering for all the neighbours to see.

But as the festivities get underway, are the cracks in the ‘perfect’ Kelleway life beginning to show? As one bombshell revelation leads to another and events start to spiral out of control, Daisy and Winnie are about to discover that things aren’t always what they seem.

My Review
All Good Things by Amanda Prowse was published last year and she kindly sent me a copy to review. I can’t believe it has taken me so long to read this wonderful book, and I apologise to Amanda for this. This is the story of two very different families who live next door to each other; the Harrops and the Kelleway. Daisy Harrop sees the Kelleways as the perfect family, they have a beautiful house and garden, Mrs Kelleway always looks together and they have money. In contrast Daisy’s mother suffers from depression and has taken to her bed leaving Daisy, her brother Jake and her father to look after themselves, and the house is now run down. Over the course of twenty four hours we see the Kelleway’s veneer start tarnish and Daisy to learn that all that glitters is not gold.

Amanda Prowse’s books are always emotional and full of heart, and in my opinion what she does best is getting under the skin of her characters. Whenever I read one of her books I feel like I know the characters, they could live in my street, and frequently I know someone or a family like that she writes about. In this case it’s the Kelleways, the family who seem perfect, the matriarch with the perfect children and grandchildren and who always look happy and shiny, although underneath all is not what it seems. For Winnie, the matriarch, its her fortieth wedding anniversary which she is celebrating with all her family around her and full of grand gestures which she loves. She is incredibly materialistic and all about show and I have to say she got on my nerves with her constant exclamations about her perfect family, especially about her son Lawrence who ended up being the character I disliked the most for his selfishness and immaturity. Interstingly one of my favourite characters was Winnie’s daughter Cleo. Cleo is different from the rest of the family, she is down to earth, unpretentious and happy with her life, with a baby due imminently and a husband who adores her. Daisy was my other favourite character, she is intelligent, works in a restaurant to earn money and after a huge tip, rather than just blow it, she wants to use it mend her bicycle. Like all teengers she is insecure about her body, her realtionships, especially with boys and sees her intelligence as a hinderance.

Amanda Prowse writes this story from the points of view of the characters, different chapters from different characters. I thought this was a brilliant writing technique and added a lot to the plot as we see how they see the events of the twenty four hours, how they see the other characters and then how the other characters feel about them. We all love watching our neighbours, curtain twitching, and I felt like a voyeur reading this and I really enjoyed it, passing judgment on the characters. Amanda Prowse had me hooked with her writing, the secrets revealed, some more shocking than others, and I did start to feel sorry for Winnie whose life could come crashing down at any point. There are many witty comments and situations that made me smile. The title is very apt, just because something looks shiney doesn’t mean that it’s better than what you have and that money isn’t everything.

In loved reading All Good Things watching how the some characters began to slowly fall apart, whilst others grew stronger. The charracters have a versimilitude and I honestly felt I knew them as I looked in their lives. Emotional and uplifting Amanda Prowse has cemented herself as Queen of the domestic drama.