"Quirky characters and funny antics abound in this delightful English novel."

By: Sarah Mason

Genres: Contemporary Chick Lit

Posted: June 17, 2005

Clemmie Colshannon needs more than a dose of good luck; she needs a job, some new clothes, a man and fewer crazy people in her life. There are many adjectives I could use to describe Clemmie, boring not being one of them.

Clemmie is home in Cornwall, England, recovering from a love affair gone terribly wrong with the end result the loss of her employment and a trip around the world to escape this terrible situation. Now her younger sister has asked her to assist in bringing a young woman and her intended back together as the poor woman's father has imprisoned her. Clemmie can't say no to her sister, Holly, even when her gut feeling is to run away, fast. Holly can't turn her back on fellow reporter Emma McKellan, who's disappeared a week before her wedding. Clemmie agrees to help her sister and the favor turns into a crisis causing the whole family to end up in southern France.

Clemmie's mother is an actress, playing more roles in her daily life than on stage. Her father is the serious, quiet member of the family, while her brother is in love with someone and won't reveal her identity. The sister is a news reporter. Sam, a friend of the family for years, gets caught up in the fun. And just for good measure, their dog, Morgan, that likes to wet on things that don't move, and Norman, an injured seagull that's taken up residence in the family bathtub and a fancy pillow in the kitchen, add to this eclectic, amusing family.

Written in first person, SOCIETY GIRLS is a wonderfully entertaining story. Its fast pace and hilarious antics leave us smiling and laughing as we imagine ourselves contently sitting amongst the Colshannons at their family table, minus the dog at our feet and the seagull looking for fish to eat, of course, while they plot to solve this dilemma they've found themselves involved in. It's a great English story, and I guarantee you'll love each and every character.

Book Summary

Clemmie Colshannon, a London art appraiser framed (pun intended) by her boyfriend and subsequently fired, retreats to the bosom of her eccentric family in Cornwall to recover. But no sooner has she unpacked her bags than her sister, Holly, an energetic reporter who lives to scoop, enlists Clemmie’s derring-do on a juicy story.

It seems that Emma McKellan, who writes the society pages for the Bristol Gazette, has disappeared days before her lavish wedding. As Holly and Clemmie search for clues on the missing bride (relishing the prospect of delicious scandal), they inadvertently steer themselves directly toward trouble.

In times of crisis, the Colshannon clan is always in the thick of things–particularly Clemmie’s drama-queen mother, who has an affinity for saving wild animals, and her brother, who goes to outrageous extremes to impress a certain girl and succeeds only in terrifying her. Whether she likes it or not, Clemmie always seems to find herself in the throes of adventure. And sure enough, the whole family is soon fleeing to the south of France . . . with an ex-convict in hot pursuit.

Society Girls by Sarah Mason

Society Girls

by: Sarah Mason

Ballantine
July 5, 2005
Featuring: Clemmie Colshannon
368 pages
ISBN: 0345469577
Trade Size

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