Annie is in training for a marathon, after being urged by best friend Portia to devise a list of things to do before she turns 40. Portia believes her friend, who lives in the gatehouse to Portia's family manor in Yorkshire, is in a serious rut. With no time for a relationship, Annie runs a cake business and looks after her five-year-old daughter Sophie after partner Lance disappeared to Japan. Meanwhile, author Jake is headed to Buttersley Manor to write a murder-mystery. He's so good looking all the women in town are in a tither. But he certainly doesn't want anyone to find out he's actually a billionaire former fund manager who writes under a pen name. The story is less about a woman approaching her forties - as the title suggests - and more a romance. It's a light, easy read - and the story behind Jake's reclusiveness was interesting. There is a rather tenuous link to the 40 things list but it does come into play right at the end. Personally I think it would benefit from a title rename.
