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March 25, 2008 9:00 AM

BOOK REVIEW: Finding Margo by Susanne O'Leary

Reviewed by Helen Redfern

Margo Hunter feels trapped. Her husband is sitting beside her in the car swearing at her, calling her a half-wit with venom in his voice and she has had enough.  In a split second decision she decides to hitch a lift to Paris, leaving her husband whilst he is sitting waiting his turn for the petrol pump.

Margo and her husband Alan had been driving on the French motorway when he asked her which exit they needed. But Margo hadn’t read the map correctly and Alan goes into his usual rage. This time, however, enough is enough. To be fair, if I had been driving all the way through France and my husband had lost the way I would have been pretty annoyed too. So in that respect I can see where Alan is coming from and I did mentally roll my eyes a little as I assumed what kind of woman I was going to have to read about for the next 400 odd pages.

Realising she is in France with no money, Margo looks for a job and gradually she starts to win me over. I realise she isn’t a silly woman, but one who was driven to taking this drastic action because of the man she was married to. My initial assumptions were incorrect (which is fabulous because it means I didn’t guess the plot of the story straight away). As I found out more about her and see how she reacts to her new employers I began to really enjoy the story. Then I found I couldn’t put the book down. So even though I had the onset of flu I read the book late into the night.

Yes the characters are clichéd. Her employer, a spoilt Comtesse with her two sons, one a playboy, one a career man in high office. Alan, the highly strung husband who puts his career before everything (including his wife) and Gráinne, the earthy Irish woman who offers Margo no-nonsense advice. But I didn’t care about the clichés. I just enjoyed the plot, which had some good twists including a few I didn’t see coming – always a bonus. I enjoyed the well described French setting. I liked the relationship between Margo and The Comtesse. Margo wasn’t put upon but answered her back, with respect of course, and took absolutely no nonsense from the sons. What I liked most though was how Margo came to realise she is actually doing all right on her own. Did she need Alan after all?

So from a slightly nervous start this book surprised me. If I looked hard enough there may be a few faults but the flow of the story didn’t let me see them. It kept me highly entertained (and my mind off the impending flu).

Rating: 5/5

Like this? Try When to Walk by Rebecca Gowers

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Posted by Aigua Media on March 25, 2008 in Rating: 5/5 | Permalink

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