Mrs Murphy Hires a Cleaner

by Kath Kincaid

Emily Murphy has mislaid her plug. She is no longer connected to life’s electricity as she wanders around her lovely, possibly haunted, empty home. Her once idealistic, handsome husband Alex has turned into a hard, ruthless work-obsessed capitalist, her children have left and she has lost her looks.Then into her life comes Mae McNulty, the cleaner. With four children by four absent men, not to mention a lady-killing, sharply dressed father, a bad tempered granddad, and an illegally enlarged council house, Mae couldn't be more different from her employer.Despite their differences, the two women quickly form a strong friendship and a complex, hilarious chain of events ensue, involving mistaken identity, two pounds of Semtex, a chaotic wedding and a beauty salon in Bootle called Cleopatra’s . . .Kath Kincaid was born in Liverpool and now lives in Essex with her husband. She has three grown-up sons. She has written a variety of short stories and plays. Mrs Murphy Hires A Cleaner is her debut comic novel.“A really good read.” Good Housekeeping“Astute Liverpool comedy after Tom Sharpe.” The Mirror“One of those laugh aloud romps you daren't read on a train.” East Anglian Daily Times“Never stops entertaining.” Herts & Essex Star

Genres: Chick Lit

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Hermioneginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily ha 45 anni anni, due figli grandi, un marito assente e una grande casa vuota.
Mae ha 34 anni, quattro figli da quattro uomini diversi, un padre, un nonno, un cane e svariati lavori.
Mae non pulisce solo la casa di Emily, ma anche la sua vita. Porta con sè una ventata di ottimismo e una serie di eventi surreali che non risparmiano nessuno.

Sorrisi che danno una sferzata al morale durante l'influenza. Mae è una novella Mary Poppins dotata di aspirapolvere e lucidatrice...

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

When bored and miserable, neglected housewife Emily Murphy feels life has become too much for her and who exists on a diet of cornflakes due to a lack of enthusiasm with anything domestic she decides to hire a cleaner after her last one quit.
Unbeknown to her this decision was to change Emily's life completely, her husband Alex is obsessed with making money at his computer firm and they have grown apart to the point of total neglect of each other, her children Gareth and Mary have flown the nest and due to their domineering and cranky father they rarely come home to visit but all this is about to be a thing of the past.
Mae McNulty is a total breath of fresh air and completely turns around not only Emily's house but also all the main aspects of her life.
From her huge ragtag family that often accompany Mae to work, to her womanising father and her grumpy but lovable grandfather, her tribe of children and their "adopted" dog Cecil to undercover police, blasts from the past, secrets, lies and even a little murder among friends Mae's life has all these unexpected elements descend on her but being the timid beaten down mouse she is due to Alex's unconcern will she be able to face and battle all these obstacles or will they like everything else in her life just swamp her again.
Can Emily and Alex ever find happiness and can Mae's fairy godmother happy go lucky nature send a little bit of spice even in this direction?
A feel good and lovely rom com that is perfect either for summer reading or a great cosy light read for a cold winter's night.
A great debut from the author and would definitely read more of her work in future, funny, exciting and times sad this book had it all.

[Jayne]

Mrs Murphy met her husband in University when they were both anti/establishment and interested in helping the poor and sniffing out unjust practices. But all that was before Alex discovered money and now Emily is left adrift to wander their big empty house, un employed and uninterested in living. Until Mae their new cleaner arrives.

Mae with a big heart and an equally big family. Big changes are ahead. not just for Em but for Alex as well.



A fluff book but still worth a read.

[Monique Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read to relax with.