Three Things About Elsie

My rating: * * *

Goodreads Description

There are three things you should know about Elsie. The first thing is that she’s my best friend. The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better. And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining. 84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago? From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them: 1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever. 2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done. 3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.

My Review

I loved this author's debut novel, The Trouble With Goats and Sheep but unfortunately I wasn't quite as impressed with this one.

I don't know if I'm just in an unlucky patch at the moment, or whether my reading mojo is badly off, but I seem to be reading a number of books lately that I like, but that I don't love. I'm dying to read a book that I just fall in love with, and from the blurb on the back cover of this book, I was hoping that this one was going to be it...but alas. It was another book that I liked and nothing more.

This is a book about getting old, about being young, about the special people that enter our lives and that we carry with us for the length and breadth of our days. This book had all the makings of a sentimental and charming read, and to some extent it was. It's also a fairly heart-warming story and very humorous at times too. It's a story that intertwines humour and mystery, and I'm not quite sure why I didn't like it more.

When a strange man moves into the retirement village where Florence lives, she thinks she recognizes him, and seeks confirmation from her friend Elsie. But there's a problem - the man they think they know died tragically many years ago. But why does this stranger scare Florence so? And why does he seem so familiar, even down to the scar on the side of his face? It's this mystery that's unraveled during the course of the story.

So, did I like this? Well, sort of. There are some really great lines in this story, lines that I found myself re-reading because they summed up so perfectly my feelings about certain things. There was also a lot of good humour and some characters that were extremely likable, Florence being one of them. It's a cosy, safe read, with a little bit of drama and mystery, but the story just lacked any real pull for me. I found that it dragged in parts and I actually took quite a long time to finish this read because I never felt truly mesmerized by the story.

Let's just say, I'm still waiting patiently for my next great, brilliant and utterly amazing read. This wasn't it unfortunately, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a good read, from a good author.

My Rating: * * *

Publication Date: March 2018 (South Africa)

Genre: General Fiction

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Joanna Cannon and Jonathan Ball SA for my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.