Gary and Brenda . . . Sometimes!

by Lyn Pike, White Magic Studios (Cover Art)

Gary and Brenda move across town and we join their chaotic life and friends.

Sarah thinks everyone fancies her, Aggie pulls people kicking and screaming into her amateur dramatics productions, Kristian adopts a mischievous German Shepherd... named Satan and Izzy insists Brenda's name is Glenda! At least Dolly offers sanctuary in her café in town.

Their hobbies too offer little relief with Gary's creepy bowling buddy and Brenda's WI dramas. Plus all around town, the 'Roadeteers' (Frank, Doug and Steve) are causing roadwork havoc! Right you are!

A year of chaos and comedy! Do things ever go right? Well...  sometimes!

270 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2025

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this easy to read, enjoyable story is described as a ‘gentle comedy’, which in many ways it is, one of the things I enjoyed most about it was how well, often quite acerbically, the author captured the ‘warts and all’ nature of Gary and Brenda’s relationship, frequently rather tetchy but, at heart, loving and caring. Their struggles to adjust to their move from a much-loved family home to a smaller one across town and begin to get to know new neighbours, were very well-observed and felt not only psychologically credible but also entirely relatable. Whilst I found some of the other character portrayals at times rather too stereotypical, the fact that were instantly recognisable provided moments of humour! I found that the overall charm of the book was enhanced by the hand-drawn sketches at the end of each chapter.
(3½* rounded up to 4*)