Welcome to my review of Old Friends by Felicity Everett. The synopsis for this book looked great, but unfortunately, it was poorly marketed. A thriller billed as ‘Sharp, dark and brilliantly twisty’, it was certainly not! Expecting to be reading a thriller and waiting for the twists and darkness to arrive meant that I was waiting for something which was never coming. Had I realised that it was a family drama, I wouldn’t have expected that, so I think it would have made it feel like a different read. However, I did like this book, but the marketing made me feel let down.
Moving in together. What could go wrong?
‘Sharp, dark and brilliantly twisty’ OK!
Two couples, best friends for half a lifetime, move in together. What could possibly go wrong…?
Harriet and Mark have it all: successful careers, a lovely house in a leafy London suburb, twin boys on the cusp of leaving home. Yvette and Gary share a smaller place with their two daughters in a shabbier part of the same borough.
But when the stars align for a collective move north, it means a fresh start for them all. For Mark, it’s a chance to escape the rat race; for Harriet, a distraction from her unfulfilled dream of a late third child. Gary has decided to reboot the Madchester band that made him famous, while Yvette hopes it will give her daughters what she never had herself.
But as the reality of their new living arrangements slowly sinks in, the four friends face their own mid-life crises, and the dream becomes a nightmare…
Felicity Everett grew up in Manchester and studied English Literature at Sussex University. She worked in children’s publishing in London, whilst raising a family and is the author of more than twenty works of children’s fiction and non-fiction. After a short career break, Felicity returned to writing full-time and in 2011 published her debut novel, The Story of Us, a funny and touching account of the friendships forged between five women at University in the 1980s. Her second novel, The People at Number 9, published in April 2017, is a dark satire on sex, envy and betrayal in the suburbs. Felicity has recently returned from a few years living in Melbourne, with her husband and now lives in Gloucestershire. The Move, published in January 2020, is a gothic tale of marriage and mental instability set in the dark heart of the countryside. Her latest book, Old Friends, is out in February/March 2022.
The story follows two couples and best friends: Gary and Yvette, Harriet and Mark. They each have children and eventually move together near Manchester after living in London for many years. The book is written from each perspective and switches between them in each chapter. They each have their own thing going on, their own struggles and individual lives as well as their lives together.
The book has a slow pace, and I felt it took me a long time to read (four evenings); the billed ‘living together’ doesn’t begin until part two – quite some way through the book. Part one is the plot and character set; their origin story means that the characters are well developed. This is good because you know each character and their background, but this bogs down the plot a little. Part two deals with them ending up living together and is, in my opinion, the best part of the book. Part three is the worst; the ending is rushed and disappointing.
A couple of friends who are quite an unlikely pairing, Harriet and Mark, are wealthier; they live in a posh neighbourhood and are both professionals living the good life. Gary and Yvette, in contrast, are of much lower standing. Gary, a reluctant teacher after an extensive music career and Yvette, a teaching assistant who lives in a much poorer neighbourhood and struggle more. Each has two children, which is how they met; Yvette is the teaching assistant who helps Harriet and Mark’s struggling son, Oliver, during school.
I didn’t like how Harriet and mark viewed their children so differently. Jack can do no wrong, and Oliver is treated with disdain at every turn, being the delinquent child. Good to see that this changed at the end. Gary and Yvette also treat their children very differently. Poor Ruby seems to live in the shadows of her older, more important, sister. Some complex family dynamics made this a better read.
The biggest let-down for me was the ending. It all felt too convenient, and there were too many strings left hanging around about what happened and how. I was left wanting to know more about the other characters. Still, I felt it focused more on Yvette’s family but was not quite full enough for me.
As a domestic family drama, this is an enjoyable read overall, and I do like a family drama. However, the marketing needs to work on, which isn’t the author’s fault, but I feel she will feel the disappointment to which this leads
| Title | Old Friends |
| Author | Felicity Everett |
| Series | N/A |
| Format | eARC |
| Page Count | 359 Pages |
| Genre | Contemporary |
| Publisher | HQ |
| Release Date | 28th February 2022 |
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