MontyandRosie: May 2009

All His Own Hair - blurb from back of book...

Ferne Tollivera is on a mission. Now that Sparrow, her ward, has reached nine years of age, she reckons he needs a male role model in his life. With typical efficiency she sets about finding a father-figure by drawing up a series of checklists for each candidate, and following a strict protocol for interviewing them.

So far, all the contenders have failed miserably to get enough ticks in the right boxes.

But Ferne is focused and nothing is going to stop her from fulfilling her responsibilities…

...except maybe a saboteur out to wreck her business; drunken neighbours; her unfortunate past from which it is so difficult to escape; her estranged mother; long-lost sister; and her Jack Russell, Merrie, who is not above galloping over and nipping any prospective role models she thinks Will Not Do.

White Lies & Custard Creams - blurb from back of book...

All Liz Houston wants is to keep her head above the financial white waters of her life. Somehow, though, other people, including ex-husband Hugh, repeatedly get in the way.

Hugh just wants a quiet life and to be there for the people he cares about. Caring about Liz does not lead to a quiet life…

Moocher, Liz’s Border Collie, wants to be where all the crumbs are; he wants to keep all his paws, but most of all he wants to keep Liz company as she rides the rapids of her life.

Add in odd-shoe-wearing lodger Simon, Git-next-door, a lost brother, an illicit fortune stashed away decades ago, a trio of part-time thugs, kidnappings, a tree-climbing tortoise and a dog-flap with a story of its own, and it becomes apparent that a few white lies (and custard creams) between friends are the least of Liz’s problems.