Without Him - Tapa dura

One of the smartest writers of popular fiction ... a rollicking holiday read -- Irish Independent Witty and warm emotion, mixed with tense excitement, will have you engrossed from the start. Definitely one for the suitcase. Excellent. -- RTE Guide Praise for No Reservations: 'You'll devour this in one sitting ... Grown-up, intelligent fiction. She just gets better and better.' -- Cathy Kelly The right mix of heartfelt emotion and upbeat humour -- Image An easy, polished read that has a lot of perceptive insight -- Irish Independent

Young and aspiring TV presenter Olivia is totally focused on grooming her fledgling career and image, part of which is her perma-tanned, bodybuilding boyfriend, Robert. One morning she discovers he's gone AWOL around the same nanosecond as her several million euro trust fund, which, funnily enough, was about the same time as her doting 'wealth management' father, Charlie Fitzgibbon disappeared. Her mother, Shelley, appears to have lost a husband, not to mention face. It's all gone: the the villa in Cap Ferrat, the art collection, the jewels, the botox. Thank goodness she still has her other super rich friends to turn to, and, of course, she still has the family home ...or does she? Only one woman in Charlie's life is unsurprised: Vera Fitzgibbon, Charlie's formidable 79 year old widowed mother. But this time, Charlie has surpassed himself. He hasn't just blown a fortune, he's fleeced his nearest and dearest and almost brought down a bank in the process. Vera opens her doors to her alienated daughter-in-law and grand-children and they discover that they might, after all, have more in common than they thought. And unlikely though it may seem, Charlie begins to learn that even from six thousand miles away - blood will always prove thicker than water ...