Big fan of Jane Fallon so I was excited to read her new novel. I was instantly struck by how effortlessly readable it was, I slipped straight into the story with ease. The main character, Laura, is wonderfully sarcastic and very likeable and her insecurities were very honest and relatable. I struggled with some of the other characters as they seemed so far removed from anyone I've ever encountered, but that doesn't mean they weren't believable to a certain extent. I did spend most of the book expecting Laura to have got the wrong end of the stick but fortunately I was wrong, however I did feel that the ending fell a little flat. Thoroughly enjoyable summer read that I would not hesitate to recommend. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the ARC.

I’ve read a few Jane Fallon novels over the years and enjoyed them, so I was pleased to receive a digital review copy back in January 2020. As lockdown hit the UK in March, the publication date was moved to July 2020 and I only read the book in June. Sadly, this was my loss as this is an enjoyable book. This is a no spoiler review so I will be careful not to spoil any of the surprises in store for the characters. Laura has moved into The Close, a ‘posh’ area after splitting up with her husband and needing somewhere to rent – she is in the ‘servants flat’ owned by Gail and Ben. Laura is an entrepreneur – running her own cleaning company and employing a number of staff. The people she meets in The Close lead very different lifestyles and probably wouldn’t know what a vacuum cleaner was. One of the residents is Stella, who with her two mini me daughters, aren’t nice to Laura and her daughter. However due to a series of events, Laura and Stella suddenly find that they have more in common than they ever expected. I really enjoyed the book and likened it to a modern day Downton Abbey – where the ‘rich’ people have no idea how the majority of people live – everything is done for them. I laughed out loud at the ‘pizza in the oven’ story. The Close is full of secrets and I enjoyed how Jane Fallon shared them one by one, changing your opinion about some of the characters as the story unfolded. There is so much more that I would love to share about the book but I don’t want to give any spoilers. I recommend this for your staycation 2020 summer read.

Jane Fallon's books are a bit like a big bit of chocolate cake. You're not going to get much nutritional value from it but you are REALLY going to enjoy it nonetheless. This book was fun to read, perfect light escapist fiction that I think is just what a lot of us need right now.

Nobody needs telling that reading a novel by Jane Fallon will cast you straight into an escapist, usually middle class, often London world of people who are in the throes of a personal crisis. Whilst the stories can be described as formulaic, they are usually a very enjoyable ‘beach read’. However, I really can’t say that about ‘Queen Bee’. The titular character, Stella, is a Barbie caricature: lots of plastic surgery, over the top mansion, rude to her housekeeper, very spoilt children etc, etc. No surprises there – and the trouble is that she never really evolves into something more either. Polar opposite is the central character, through whose eyes we see the privileged lives of the collection of ‘Hampstead Wives’ who buzz round Stella. Her name is Laura; newly separated, she runs a small cleaning company and is devoted to her eight-year-old daughter. The only reason she becomes embroiled with these women is through her temporary renting of a tiny flat opposite Stella. Laura uncovers Stella’s husband’s dreadful betrayal of her through work and thereafter there are plenty of moral conundrums to be faced. Unfortunately, it is difficult to appreciate why Laura would want anything whatsoever to do with Stella and the other women. Even the suggestion of some sort of general sisterhood doesn’t really ring true amongst these characters and Laura knows this. So, why get involved? Well, because the author needs a plot! If this all sounds a bit harsh, it’s only because Fallon’s other novels do have some elements of credibility. Sadly, this one does not. As ever, it’s well written with an excellent ear for dialogue and eye for domestic detail and fans will, no doubt, love it. However, it’s not for me. My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK, Michael Joseph for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

An enjoyable lockdown diversion with some fairly stereotypical characters and no real surprises along the way. I did find it dragging quite a lot in the middle but it kept my attention to the end. Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book