Sorry, Luv, I'll Send Another Car

by Nigel Springthorpe

Andy Marshall finds himself at a crossroads in life.

After thirty years of continuous employment in the Civil Service, his deteriorating health led to months of unemployment. With a family to look after, Andy was beginning to feel the strain.

Against his wife’s better judgement, he decides to join a struggling minicab firm which catapults him into an almost alien, rollercoaster world working every evening with an eclectic group of drivers, and even stranger passengers. He quickly learns that two nights on the job are never the same, and the people he encounters along the way have the possibility to change his life, forever. Everything changes when an unexpected invitation from a passenger takes him to Florida, and later, to the Caribbean.

ebook

Published September 28, 2019

Reviews

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks]

How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley

DNF @ 30%

I don't understand what this book is about. I just read effectively a third of it and it's has no structure - no climax, no rising, no... Anything. It's just cab drivers talking or taking passengers from point A to point B. At around 30% the main character goes to Florida and I thought something was going to happen there, but it just keeps trudging on in the same tone of nothing really going on. What is this book about? I'm not sure I want to spend 5 more hours on finding out.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

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[Anjana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book with a different understanding of its content. It is marketed as a humorous book, and that's where the problem lies. It made me expect a punchline at some point.
I am glad I read the book all the way through, though. Halfway into the narrative, the story gets serious, and there is more gravity to the people's actions. This made it easier to read all the way through.
The story is of a man who decides to ply a taxi during the night shift in order to do something with his time as well as for monetary benefits. Given the time he chooses and the company he decides to do it for, there is a motley crew of characters that he ends up observing. Each involves him in their own way. As a character study, it worked enough to keep me reading hoping, for something to happen. There is a mild sense of closure towards the end.
With a few tweaks, I could have liked this book more than I did.
I did take away a better understanding of a whole other world of people who drive taxis or cabs for the late shift and how they might function outside of their jobs.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

After nearly thirty years in the civil service 47-year-old Andy Marshall has what is euphemistically referred to as a 'nervous debility' or, in plain language, a breakdown.

A year later he feels ready to return to the workforce in some way. He takes a temporary job driving a mini-cab, affectionately dubbed 'The Yellow Peril', during the evening shift. (From what I gather, it's somewhat similar to an independent or gypsy cab service in the U.S.)

Sorry, Luv, I'll Send Another Car chronicles Andy's adventures and interactions with a variety of fringe characters (both customers and fellow drivers). Told in a third person narrative, the novel reads like a fictionalized version of someone's personal journal.

There isn't much of an overarching plot or through line narrative, the book is mostly random bits and pieces with a few reoccurring characters. A sort of collection of "a day in the life" vignettes woven together by Andy's fish out of water circumstances.

It's entertaining and sometimes humorous but there's a lot of slow parts.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

[Thomas Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about Andy Marshall who was a civil servant for 30 years before he had an emotional breakdown and led to a bout of depression which gives him a early retirement. He is looking for another job that will help supplement the family income. With some apprehension he answers an add for what turns out to be a taxi cab driver. Mind you this takes place in England and he goes to work for what they call minicab driver these are like second level they are not the taxi service you associate with England these are not the Black Cabs. It is an interesting cast of characters with this low rent outfit you can really picture this place and the various fares he picks up. The only issue I had with this book was being from the States understanding some of the British slang. But this was a pretty good book and a fast read.

I received an ARC copy from Netgalley for an honest review

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fun, light read with relatable characters. I found myself cheering on Andy in his adventures with his coworkers and his passengers. His experiences keep him on quite a rollercoaster.

[Pam Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a series of incidents in the life of a cab driver rather than an actual plot. Some humour in there though.