Changes

Glamourous Grazia, sassy Sandie and enthusiastic Emily first got together in Harrison's earlier title, ''The Secret Shopper's Revenge''. Now they're back but this time there are many more hassles to deal with than just a bit of simple, secret shopping. Think toy boys toyboys and sugar daddies and the odd A-lister, a choice between aging ageing gracefully or disgracefully, reformed criminals and criminal exes, long lost mothers and potential new mothers in law (in the same room! At the same time!) and the delight or dread that comes from finding yourself unexpectedly in the family way. Combine all these factors with the run -up to Christmas and you have three good friends run off their feet in every direction but, because friendship is really all that matters, resolutely there for each other in a pinch.

The book follows the three women, plus new gal Kelly, as they prepare for the busiest time of the year. The format of telling it in the first person but constantly from different people's points of view took a few chapters to get used to, but after a while , I found it easy to make the switch from one to another. The story is slick, and the different threads weave together well, so by the end you really just have one main story, albeit with a few different sub plotssubplots.

I found that for the first few pages there was an assumption that I had read the previous book about these characters. Feeling very much flung in the deep end, I struggled to keep track of who was who, especially since the characters are quite distinct and really aren't interchangeable. This soon settled down, and I got to grips with the women and their associated partners, ex-partners and offspring, but initially , I was worried I wouldn't end up enjoying the book as much as I should.

The book covers a period of about two months from November to the new year, and while the titbits of information on how to run a business that popped up between some of the chapters focussed on the run -up to the holidays, the book wasn't overly in-your-face festive, and is certainly one you could enjoy regardless of the date on the calendar or the weather outside. Speaking of those titbits, to be honest , I didn't see the point of them, since the two women who were business owners skilfully skillfully ignored the advice, but they are helpfully short and easy to skip should you so wish.