FICTION

Sail Away

Bloomsbury USA. Jun. 2018. 368p. ISBN 9781635571837. pap. $17; ebk. ISBN 9781635571844. F
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For "actress of a certain age" Suzy Marshall, securing roles is no easy task—even with her impressive list of theater and film credits. So she is thrilled to play the part of Lady Bracknell in a Zurich production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Her delight quickly turns to dismay, however, as the production is underfunded, underrehearsed, conceptually flawed, and, as if that wasn't bad enough, is abruptly canceled. Stranded in Europe, Suzy is forced to take a job on a cruise ship to get home to London. Meanwhile, Amanda Herbert has finally moved out of the large old house where she raised her children—only to find that the charming flat she's purchased won't be available for weeks. Temporarily homeless, Amanda decides to enjoy a holiday aboard a cruise ship. As the women traverse the Atlantic, they begin to realize that Suzy's slightly seedy theater production disguised a more nefarious operation.
VERDICT Coincidences abound in this light comic novel by a British character actress and author (Not Quite Nice), featuring two middle-aged women who find friendship and unravel a mystery, with a supporting cast of mildly eccentric fellow travelers.
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