Unlike James in Colouring In, Simon appears to be emotionally intelligent, the glue that holds the friendship group and his family together. So when he starts planning his 60th birthday celebration you would think that everyone would stampede to get their RSVPs in. To Simon’s frustration some don’t seem that keen, especially his own family.
You meet his friends and their partners & what a disparate group they are, despite their shared past. There’s Rick, a volatile, now quite well known actor who has caused mayhem over the years. Matthew is a stolid diplomat in Finland whilst John is a serial dater. Male bonding and its at times superficial/competitive nature is perfectly played out, grown men still reminiscing about long gone conquests (real or imaginary) and shenanigans whilst ignoring the emotional elephant in the room. Their partners are not merely satellites, they know what makes their men tick, what flaws they have & are often forthright in their words and actions. Flashbacks interleaved in the present day narrative peel the layers away from these enduring friendships, revealing the complexity of human relationships. It is here that you see how the author has grown in his storytelling, trusting the reader to pick up the nuances and subtext in the situations & draw their own conclusions. But will you be right?
Simon is a widower having lost his wife in a car accident many years ago & seemingly content with just his friends, his family & his beloved band. Music features heavily through the story &, although his day job might bring in the money, it’s playing music which makes Simon whole. I may be wrong, but I think there’s more than a little of the author in Simon.
The Turner family reflect contemporary life, one sibling with a gammon of a husband who struggles to accept that his sister-in-law is happily loved up with another woman, another experiencing an abusive relationship and a father who tries to keep up with the times and his family(I adored George). Their love for each other is evident but will any of them come to the party?
As the title suggests, all is not quite what it seems on the surface and there are plenty of eye openers along the way. After all, no one gets to their 6th decade without a few skeletons poking their heads out of the closet ( & before you ask, I’m keeping shtum on my own 😉). How those affect the party, Simon & those around him will be revealed at the end- no spoilers, but to say that the ending builds to a startling crescendo is an understatement.
A superb book from start to finish, great story, believable, well drawn characters, all woven together with sensitivity, warmth and humour, ending with a stunning finale.
It’s a massive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read and 👍 from me.
Can’t wait to read his latest release Justinian’s Daughters.
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