The End of Cuthbert Close by Cassie Hamer

‘This too shall pass.’

Cuthbert Close. The sort of neighbourhood where street parties are held each year.  Where friendships are formed, and children play in the street.  Three very different women have become close friends: Cara is a food stylist; Alex is a corporate lawyer and Beth is a stay-at-home mum.  They are having their annual end of summer street party when a removalist’s truck drives into the close.  The truck is headed to the vacant house at the end of the close: Charlie Devine and her teenage daughter Talia are moving in.  And then there’s a storm, but that’s just the beginning…

Things start going wrong in Cuthbert Close: Beth is worried about her husband Max, Cara and her daughter Poppy are concerned about the future and Alex is finding it ever more challenging to juggle her responsibilities as the mother of twins with being a corporate lawyer.

‘Yesterday, I held a funeral for a guinea pig.  I will not judge you.’

Beth, Cara and Alex establish a new business, but someone seems determined to sabotage them.  Alex is offered her dream position, but there are domestic issues to consider.  Beth is worried about her marriage, and Cara has parental expectations to meet (or avoid).

What does the future hold for these women in Cuthbert Close?

Contemporary issues (with an occasional twist) in middle class suburbia: issues that many of Ms Hamer’s readers will be able to relate to.  I enjoyed this novel, the relationships between the main characters and the challenges they were trying to meet.  There’s a wry humour in the storytelling which I really enjoyed.

‘The past is who we are, for better or worse.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin HQ Fiction for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

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