Where Have All the Boys Gone?

by Jenny Colgan

From New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan comes this hilarious romance about a woman who trades in the comforts of city life in hopes of finding love in a small Scottish town in the middle of nowhere.

Faced with the harsh reality that there are 25,000 more women than men in London, Katie’s dating prospects are at an all-time low. While she’s glad it’s not a man’s world anymore, it wouldn’t hurt if there were more eligible bachelors.

More likely to get murdered than married, according to gleeful media reports, Katie resigns herself to the fact that there’s no sex in the city for her and decides to head for the hills—or the Scottish Highlands to be exact. Despite the fact she’s never been one for muddy rain boats—and Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere—the tiny town does have one major men. LOTS of them!

But while Katie relishes the chance to do battle with armies of admirers, she’s not excited about going head to head with her shady new boss, Harry. At least there’s the local eye-candy to distract her, including gorgeous newshound Iain. But he is at loggerheads with Harry, and she can’t afford to get on Harry’s bad side any more than she already has.

Life in the country might not be one big roll in the hay, but now that Katie has taken the plunge, can she ever turn her back on the delights of Fairlish and return to city life…?

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Scotland, Adult

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2005

About the author

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including 'The Little Shop of Happy Ever After' and 'Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery', which are also published by Sphere.' Meet Me at the Cupcake Café' won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was 'Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams', which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.

For more about Jenny, visit her website and her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter.

Jenny Colgan has also been published under the name Jenny T. Colgan.

Reviews

[Irena BookDustMagic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Browsing trough my local library's shelf, an amazin and a bit funny book title cought my attention: Where Have All The Boys Gone?
With the adorable cover and the fact that it is written by Jenny Colgan, an author I want to check out for the longest time, I just had to borrow it.

The story follows three friends in their late twenties. One day, they were just minding their own girly buisness, when they saw an article in the newspaper which said that a single girl in London has a bigger chance to be murdered then to find herself a man.



I don't think I have to tell you what girls' reaction was. Already stressed out, they started to worry they'll never find a decent man for themselves…

This book was one really good entertaiment. The story pulled me in and I was just having a great time reading it. I didn't think about anything, I just enjoyed the ride.



Almost all the charaters in this book were likeable, although I didn't feel attached to any of them.
There was one guy I didn't particurarly like (Harry) because I found him to be too judgamental, but the world is full of people like him, which made me appreciate him as a character.
I don't think that every fictional guy has to be swoon worthy and perfect, because life doesn't work that way.

The writing style is really good. Colgan captured the atmosphere of a little Scottish town in such an amazing way (that was my favorite aspect of the story).
She also handled very well an inner struggle of characters. Because of that, it was very easy to keep up with their process of thinking that lead them to make decisions they made.



This book is written over ten years ago and now when I read it, I want to check out some of Colgan's new work to see how she developed as an author.

Overall, if you want to read a book just to occupy your mind, make you laugh on the way (I even cought myself laughing out loud at times) and make you forget about the world around you, I think this book is a good choice for you.

Read this and more reviews at my blog https://bookdustmagic.com

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should always look at the actual publication date before choosing to review a book! I should have learned my lesson with Colgan's reissued My Very 90s Romance Although I love and adore her more recent books (Little Beach Street Bakery series, Endless Beach series, Bookshop series) these older titles are very difficult to get through. The characters are totally on the surface and there's not the depth of emotion or storytelling that her later books have. Her maturity as a writer is so evident in her more recent titles, and in comparison this book just doesn't cut it.
This book does have its cute moments, which are charming, but some of the jokes just don't translate well into the culture of today's world. Overall it's just too predictable. I'll look forward to the new, fresh offerings coming out soon from Colgan, as she remains one of my favorite authors for modern-day contemporary romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

[Syndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

DnF

I really want to like this book so badly. I thought the idea of a woman goes into the extream to find that perfect man, is intresting enougj for weekend read. Somehow it does not work.

The flow of the story is too dragging and boring for my taste.

I give up.

2 stars

[Linden · Rating 2 out of 5]

This re-issued Jenny Colgan novel was a huge disappointment to me. Katie, who works in PR, takes a job in Scotland , in a town where there are very few female residents, unlike her home in London, where the woman are complaining that there aren’t enough men to go around. One dimensional flaky female characters and a contrived plot surprised me, as Colgan is one of my favorite authors. Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Kristīne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scribd beidzot salikuši visas Jenny Colgan grāmatas arī lasāmā formātā un ar svaigākiem vāciņiem, liels paldies viņiem par to!

Jauks, smieklīgs un romantisks stāsts, kas būtu perfekti pārvēršams kolorītā romkomā, bet ne banālā Hallmark subproduktā.

Pošīgas Londonas meitenes, nepieradinātie skotu puiši, Skotijas mazpilsētas varoņu plejāde, svarīga ekoloģiska misija un mūžīgais jautājums - kur tad ir visi īstie vīrieši?

Mīlas stāsts te pat nebija centrālais, un galīgi nepietrūka. Autore ir viltus boifrendu karaliene, un nu jau es zinu, viņai lieliski sanāk ievest lasītāju maldīgos ūdeņos, un tas pirmais, kas meiteni nobučos, noteikti nebūs tas, kas paturēs!

[İlkim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Temelde komik bir çik-lit aslında ama azıcık yavan. Bu türde ayıla bayıla okuduğum çok kitap olduğundan biraz daha zor beğeniyorum artık. Pegasus'un 5 kitap 30 tl indirimi var kitapyurdunda, orada sepet yaparken hadi bunu da ekleyeyim demiştim. İsmi uzun süredir dikkatimi çekiyordu ama bu isme yakışır komiklikte bulamadım.

[Lisa Wolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the author's more recent books, but this backlist book really shows its age. Lots of dated scenarios involving women desperate to find men to date, and the humor for the most part just does not land.

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've only read one other book (The Bookshop on the Corner) by Jenny Colgan, but the two were eerily similar. I wonder if she's a bit formulaic. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the humor, but the plot and the characters are just too.... fake. It's over the top and not in a good way. Katie can't find a decent date in all of London, there is simply too much competition. When she gets sent up to Scotland on assignment, she is amazed to discover that there are men everywhere and nary a lass in sight! The dating odds are finally in her favor! Not that she has much time to think about dating though. Her boss has her work cut out for her trying to brainstorm ways to save the forest from being torn down to build a golf course. Her best friend Louisa has accompanied her on this trip and the two of them find themselves enjoying the quaint town life, interesting traditions, and handsome single men. Only , things can't stay perfect for long. Katie is bound to muddle something up! Love triangles, ridiculous scenarios, and ridiculous people. This book is ok as a beach read; but even that might be pushing it.

[My_Strange_Reading]

DNF 30% didn’t stick with it long enough to give it a rating. It just wasn’t that good. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I lost interest and found other books.

[Ema · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ohhhh, this is a reissue, this makes a lot more sense now. I was sooo terribly excited for new Colgan that I even read this on the Overdrive app (which was very disorienting...it's just not as savvy as the Kindle app, sorry to say) but it took me a whole week to get through: it just wasn't that engrossing or interesting, and even when I had a weekend morning to sit and read it, I found myself on Reddit instead. Colgan's still one of my favourite authors, but I found this wasn't her normal quality.

This did have an interesting love triangle piece, but I think it just ended up diminishing the ultimate relationship and led to my not really trusting Katie's emotions.

Also, I love the idea of up and leaving London for the Scottish highlands, but this happens in practically every single Colgan book, and I'm dying to see a character that's actually torn and maybe decides to stay in London, because it's starting to feel very unrealistic. Maybe I've read too many of her books?

[Jody Reads Smut · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so disappointed in my first read by this author. I could not get past the fourth chapter, it moved very slowly and the characters were not likable at all to me. This book was a DNF for me, and I do not know that I would want to continue to read anything else by Jenny. This book spoiled my first impression of Ms. Colgan’s writing.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Racheli Zusiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

זהו הספר השלישי של ג'ני קולגן שאני קוראת, וסגנונו דומה לספריה האחרים שקראתי: אישה צעירה החיה בעיר בריטית גדולה חווה משבר אישי, ומוצאת רווחה ואהבה במקום קטן יותר באנגליה-רבתי. הפעם מדובר בלונדון מול כפר בסקוטלנד.
קייטי היא יחצ"נית לונדונית, שמצד אחד נהנית מהיתרונות והפינוקים של העיר הגדולה, ומצד שני מתקשה עם הצפיפות, יוקר המחיה ובעיקר - העובדה שהיחס המספרי בין גברים לנשים הוא מאוד לרעת הנשים, והיא לא מצליחה למצוא בן זוג... היא נשלחת ע"י הבוסית שלה לעבודת יח"צ בכפר בסקוטלנד במטרה להציל את היער המקומי מכריתה לטובת הפיכת השטח למגרש גולף. גם בספר הזה היא מכירה שני גברים השונים אחד מהשני ומתלבטת ביניהם, וחווה את היתרונות והחסרונות של מגורים במקום נידח בסקוטלנד, ספציפית כפר שבו יש מעט מאוד נשים והמון גברים. היחס המספרי ההפוך מלונדון, גורם לכך שהיא חווה תשומת לב, הערכה ודאגה מהגברים של הכפר, בניגוד ללונדון ששם היא אחת מיני רבות והגברים מתייחסים אליה (ולשאר הנשים) בהתאם.... יש גם עלילות משנה נוספות הקשורות לחברתה הטובה של קייטי, שבן זוגה בגד בה וזנח אותה, והתחבר עם אחותה הקטנה של קייטי.
הכתיבה של ג'ני קולגן טובה והספר חמוד, מקסים ומשעשע. מובלעות בו אמירות על כך שבמקום לחפש כל הזמן משהו מגניב יותר וטוב יותר, עלינו לראות את הטוב בחיינו ולשמור עליו (כי התוצאה של החיפוש הזה לאו דווקא תהיה אידאלית, ובסופו של דבר אנו עלולים למצוא את עצמנו קירחים מכאן ומכאן...), וכן שעלינו להיות אמיצים ולפעול בהתאם לרגשותינו. אלו מסרים מאוד רלוונטיים גם ואולי במיוחד לתקופתנו המאופיינת בFOMO, למרות שמדובר בספר ישן שנכתב לפני כ-15 שנה. למעשה, חוץ מהחלק הטכנולוגי (לקח לי זמן להבין למה קייטי לא מיחצ"נת דרך הפייסבוק והאינסטגרם עד שהגעתי לחלק שבו היא מתחברת לאינטרנט עם חייגן ואז קלטתי מתי הספר נכתב...) ממש לא נס ליחו והוא מרגיש עדכני ולא מיושן.

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a lot of mixed reviews on this book. Lots of DNF, because people couldn't get into the story, or didn't like the characters...

I didn't personally feel like this book dragged, in fact it was probably one of the quickest reads I've had this year. I thought the humor was spot on for my own sense of humor. Katie dealing with keeping up with society in London and her friends who are doing the same, albeit seem to be stunted in maturity lol, was relatable. Katie's a 30 something year old trying to navigate what life "should" look like, in a dog eat dog world". Living in a large populated city anywhere, this book focuses on superficial stuff at times (with some outdated comparisons). IRL, people do think of this stuff daily, so the idea of all the weight and diet culture talk is more like, "We have to keep up with what everyone expects of us". As for the "usual Jenny Colgan characters", it did feel a bit JC standard with the main character and her crazy best friend who doesn't hesitate to speak her mind. But, regardless I found the characters to be plenty developed for a shorter read, and I definitely loved gruff 'ol Harry's character!

Some things were cheesy, like Ewan McGregor turning up (lol), but all in all, I really enjoyed this light fluffy read, and lets be real, any book about the highlands of Scotland and passionate highlanders will always get my seal of approval.

[Love Fool · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where have all the men gone? Faced with 25,000 more women than men in London, and gleeful media reports that it's statistically more likely for single women to be murdered than get married, Katie is reached an all-time low. But all is not lost ...Another hilarious high-concept romantic comedy from Jenny Colgan. While Katie's glad it's not a man's world any more, she'd be quite pleased if there were more men in it - or at least single ones, anyway.

This was a cute story but nothing amazing. I know it's hard to find a man to date but is it really THAT hard? Now, with dating sites and women being more forceful I feel like it's easy to find a single man... the question is can you find a good single man.

[Jenn Letak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore these books, I always have a smile on my face when I’m finished and can’t wait for the next one!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

Pleasant, if slightly dated romantic comedy in the Katie Fforde school of writing.

Katie works in PR in London, she, her best friend Louise and her boss Olivia all bemoan the lack of decent men in London. After being mugged in Central London Katie applies for a job doing the PR for Fairlish Forestry Commission in the Highlands of Scotland, despite having previously only done PR for things like make-up and ice-cream.

Although her boss at the Forestry Commission Harry is grumpy and looks like a younger Gordon Brown (see what I mean about dated? FYI, Gordon Brown was an MP and Prime Minister between 2007 and 2010), the amazing thing about Fairlish is the abundance of men, 16 men to every woman they say, including her boss' arch enemy, newspaperman Iain.

Harry is trying to prevent a local businessman cutting down the beautiful forests to build yet another golf course and he needs Katie's assistance. Cue much hilarity, references to painting men's bottoms blue (in Braveheart style), local radio shows, and many quaint Scottish characters. This is clearly one of Jenny Colgan's earlier novels, the humour feels a little forced, the characters a bit too quirky, as if she's trying too hard compared with something like The Bookshop on the Shore. Nevertheless, if you like the idea of our plucky heroine organising a ball for 500 people in the Laird's crumbling mansion to raise awareness of the cause, including celebrities such as Ewan McGregor and Richard and Judy (big daytime TV hosts back in the day) then this light-hearted romance could be right up your street (or glen, since this is the Highlands).

[Susanne Wiinberg - Bogglæde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Katie, der har alt, hvad hun har brug for i sit liv, altså lige på nær af drømmemanden. At hun bor i London gør det ikke nemmere, da der er 25.000 flere kvinder end mænd.

Et job i det skotske højland bliver en mulighed og hun vælger at griber chancen, som selvfølgelig ikke kommer til at gå helt som forventet, for hverken vejret, maden, humoren eller… faktisk intet ligner livet i London. MEN! Til gengæld er der mangel på kvinder i den lille by Fairlish, hvor ‘det regner med mænd’.

To mænd forelsker sig i Katie. To mænd, der var barndomsvenner, men nu er “fjender”, hvilket kommer til at komplicerer det hele. Det og meget andet gør, at Katie skynder sig tilbage til det vante London, men!

–

Forfatter Jenny Colgan er en mester i disse feel-good fortællinger. Ingen tvivl om, at
forfatteren mestre denne genre til fingerspidserne. Blandt andet på grund af den sødme, der er over hendes sprogbrug som jeg finder tiltalende og helt perfekt for denne slags fortællinger.

Alt det som jeg nyder ved Jenny Colgans forfatterskab mangler jeg lidt her. Det sødmefyldte sprogbrug er i denne mere plat end sød, samt jagten på mændene for Katie og hendes veninder bliver nærmest desperat i stedet for romantisk. Desuden fangede fortællingen ikke på samme måde, som de plejer. Dette er på trods af, at handlingen endnu en gang er i Skotland og jeg nyder disse kulturforskelle, der plejer at være forbundet med masser af humor.

Hyggelig fortælling, der er let læselig og hurtigt læst.

Dog en Jenny Colgan skuffelse.

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Reklame - Anmeldereksemplar modtaget.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice love story that with out all the sappy stuff

[Fiction Addition Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

A romance about a girl who in the big smoke of London hopes to find a boyfriend and is failing dismally. Faced with the reality that a recent poll announced there are more women than men - romance seems nigh impossible. More likely to get murdered than married Katie decides to take on a challenge in the Scottish highlands and goes head to head with her new boss Harry. Love and life isn't simple for Katie and she needs to keep her head down.
I didn't really bond with any of the characters, although I felt that Colgan brought Scotland to life I struggled with this book. This is a re-issued Jenny Colgan novel and was a disappointment. A few laugh out loud moments but overall this story was off balanced for me.
Thank you for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a romance that didn't consist of wedgie sex, ahem, (Fix Her Up 😬) or penis descriptions. This was a full on fluff cloud romance, just my sip of tea! I have been searching for a little baby like this for awhile. I needed something to lift my grumpies up and fill my heart with a little pitter patter, and that's what I got.
Read this charming little tale if you're looking for a light marshmallow read.
Now I want s'mores.

[Bear · Rating 2 out of 5]

with books like this to depress, I am never ever becoming an adult. peter pan who?

[kagit kiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Öncelikle bu kitap bir çik-lit yani aman aman birşey beklemeyin, eğer bu aralar aynı tür kitapları okumuşsanız çok, araya sıkıştırabileceğiniz çok hoş bir roman olabilir

Hikayeye gelirsek klasik hikayelerden biriydi şehirde yaşayan kızımız bir anda londra da erkek kalmadıgını farkeder heryer kadın doludur daha sonra taşradan şirketine teklif gelir ve orda işe başlamak zorunda kalır (halkla ilişkiler uzmanı) işide ormanı yok edip golf yapmak isteyenlere karşı savaş açan Harry Barr a yardımcı olmaktır kasabamız iskoçyanın en çok erkek nüfusuna sahip kasabasıdır (575 erkek 66 kadın) ben daha farklı hayal etmiştim burdaki erkekler iyi dürüst evlenilecek tip adamlar ama daha önce bayanlarla pek muhatap olmadıkları için biraz tecrübesiz ve utangaçlar mesela;

~~~

"benimle kuzu doğurtmaya gelir misin?"

~~~

Erkekleri biraz daha ayrıntılı anlatsaydı daha hoş olabilirdi yani çok az betimlenmişlerdi ama bu tarz romanlarda pek hikayeye bakmıyorum çünkü adı üstünde piliç edebiyatı eğer beni güldürmüşse hatta kahkaha attırmışsa(ki baya attım) bu roman kendi dalında(çik-lit) iyi bir romandır ki hikaye gayet güzel işlenmiş çok hoş ve zekice espriler vardı.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were aspects of this that were good, but there were even more that were bad. A few of my biggest complaints:

1. Almost none of the characters were likable. I mean, it's realistic - nobody is 100% likable. But it's difficult to read about people who are likable, then do something appalling, then likable again, then appalling...

2. The unprofessionalism was FAR too much. If anyone acted like these characters did in the real world, they'd be fired within a day.

3. This is a little nitpicky, and a bit (a lot?) controversial, but I think it's worth critiquing: a good portion of the romantic tension arose because the protagonist expected her love interest to call her. Meanwhile, she... did absolutely nothing to indicate her interest. I realize this book is a bit old, and I try to make allowances for older romance novels (feminism has made a LOT of gains over the last few decades, and nowhere is that more evident than in romances) - but girl, take some initiative! This book really leaned into the "lack of communication is the root of all romantic problems" trope, but how about instead of placing all the blame on your love interest you admit that you played a role, too?

This book is a solid 2.5 stars, but I'll give it 2 because I'm cranky.

[Dominique · Rating 1 out of 5]

Things wrong with this book:
1) the use of the r-word.
2) the use of the n-word.
3) the use of the m-word.
4) there was a slave auction... when an eligible bachelor auction, etc., could have been used in its place.

Not that any explanation should be needed as for why it is inappropriate for a white author to write that a white character is using the n-word, here goes:

A DJ says, "And that was Ice-T there with Motherfumph the police, neegaz (her spelling)."

Problems besides the use of the n-word:

Since I'm not overly familiar with the song other than it exists, a Google search leads me to assume that this is supposed to refer to "Fumph tha Police" by NWA, of which Ice Cube is a member, not Ice-T. In fact, the only song that Ice-T has that could possibly be misconstrued is his song "Ice M.F.T."

Overall, if all of these facts are wrong, obviously this specific song did not need to be used... So why do so?

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars


As someone who has read several books by Jenny Colgan and enjoyed her writing I found this one really disappointing, I almost didn’t finish it. I didn’t realize till after I started the book it was originally published previously and recently republished. This book felt dated, comments about mental health, slut-shaming, and masculinity just weren’t funny or felt out of touch. The characters and plot was also pretty predictable. Also the plot was mostly narrated from Katie’s point of view but would have random paragraphs from male characters’ view which almost seemed to be a distraction.

[AC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok. While reading this book I ended up having a Google search that said, "Gordon Brown young" and learned that even if Fairlish has a lot of eligible bachelors, the coffee sux. There was a lot of talk of feminism, but I'm not so sure this one passes the Bechdel test and I'm not so sure that calling the men "slaves" when they were being auctioned off to ladies (for what? Idk) was ok either. The addition of Ewan McGregor as a character who saves the day by offering Katie his helicopter left me like this 🤷🏽‍♀️. Definitely some good moments in this book, but it wasn't perfect.

[Dianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book took a long time to get anywhere and then even longer to finish. I didn't realise it was a very early work by Jenny Colgan, but that explains a lot. The layout was there, it just didn't really take off and pull you in as the other books by her have done. Characters were bland and unlikable. Not enjoyable.

[Norah Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book to read through Edelweiss+ in exchange for a fair review. Where Have All The Boys Gone by Jenny Colgan is a lovely romantic comedy novel with my favourite enemies to lovers trope. On her way home from a depressing blind date, Katie Watson gets mugged and she begins to seriously question her desire to remain in London. She notices an ad for a public relations person in a small Scottish town and decides to apply. It’s a ten-hour train ride from London to Fairlish and when she arrives there is no station and it’s pouring down rain. Her prospective employer Harry Barr arrives to pick her up and their meeting goes so well minutes later she’s back on the next train to London. The Fairlish Forestry Commission still needs a PR person to help save a forest and hires the firm Katie works for in London and her boss Olivia sends her back to Scotland with their friend Louise tagging along for company as she needs a change from London as well. Katie and Louise are definitely fish out of water in the tiny town that has a lot more men than women, including dashing newspaperman Ian Kinross who just may be the man for Katie because she would never fall for her annoying curmudgeonly boss Harry. I enjoyed this book immensely for both it’s humour and it’s more serious moments. Light Steam. Publishing Date January 7, 2020. #Edelweissplus #WhereHaveAllTheBoysGone #JennyColgan #WilliamMorrowPublisher #HarperCollinsCanada #bookstagram #romanticcomedynovel #contemporaryromancenovel

[Amelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t like giving one star reviews because a part of me always feels bad, but I didn’t enjoy reading this book. Having read another book by this author, which I enjoyed, I was looking forward to reading this. Sadly, it didn’t work out. I really wanted to like it, I tried to stay focused and care about the characters, but I was unsuccessful. I did not like the protagonist, the supporting characters annoyed me, and I felt that there was a lack of plot development. Saying that I was thrilled when it *finally* ended seems harsh, so instead I’ll say that reading this book was a challenge that I enjoyed overcoming.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, Jenny Colgan has done it again. At first, I thought this was going to be another London dating scene book similar to My Very 90's Romance, which I absolutely hated. But then, the main character, Katie, with her friend, Louise in tow, head off for Fairlish, Scotland to do PR work for the two-man forestry department to prevent the destruction of the local forest for a golf course and all that it would entail. Many local, quirky characters are met there and there were several laugh out loud moments in the book. So, basically, Ms Colgan returned to her usual plot formula and I, for one, am delighted.