NEW RELEASE
The Angel at No.33 - Polly Williams (2011)
aka Afterwife
Sophie doesn't want to leave her husband Ollie and her son Freddie to cope by themselves, but after being hit by a bus she doesn't have any choice other than to watch over them. With Ollie hopeless without her and her lists, Sophie's friends launch Help Ollie Project. Meanwhile her best friend Jenny is planning her wedding and Sophie hopes she'll find out the secret she was never able to tell her. Polly's sharp and sassy writing style brings an amusing Sophie the ghost to life. The characters are brilliantly observed from the Muswell Hill mums swooning after the handsome widower to Jenny and Ollie caught up in pure grief at the loss of Sophie. Despite the difficult topic, it is written with sensitivity and humour and it is a really sweet love story. It was one of those books where the worst part is when it ends. (AB)
The Angel at No.33 Polly Williams is being re-released at the end of 2012 with a new name, Afterwife. The summary says: "Sophie Brady is funny, beautiful, a force of nature. One January evening she kisses her adored husband and young son goodbye, closes the door of No. 33. At 10pm she's with her best friend Jenny in Soho, polishing off a second bottle of wine. By midnight, she's dead. Except she doesn't feel dead. And she isn't going anywhere until she helps Ollie find love again. Heartbroken Ollie is unaware of his new eligible status in the neighbourhood. He's busy fathering Freddie, and trying to work out how to use the washing machine. This is a man who once watered a houseplant for a year before realising it was plastic. Step forward Jenny. Missing her best friend terribly, she throws herself into helping Ollie, neglecting her own imminent wedding. As she gets closer to Ollie, she unearths secrets that make her question quite how well she knew Sophie. And how well she knows her own heart. Where does loyalty end and love begin?"