A Friend of the Family cover art

A Friend of the Family

The addictive and emotionally satisfying page-turner that will have you hooked

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A Friend of the Family

By: Lisa Jewell
Narrated by: Jennifer Saayeng
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin

Meet the Londons, a family in need of a friend ...

Gerry and Bernie London are proud parents of Tony, Sean and Ned, three wayward lads whose lives have suddenly reached crisis points:

Newly divorced Tony is fantasizing about someone he really shouldn't; prize-winning novelist Sean's got a hot new girlfriend and a dose of writer's block; and Ned's just back from Australia, without the girl he took with him - or a clue what he's going to do with his life.

If that wasn't enough for one household, the Londons also have a new lodger - a mysterious rockabilly called Gervase. Will he turn out to be a friend - or foe - to the family?

© Lisa Jewell 2003 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Contemporary Contemporary Fiction Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Romantic Comedy Women's Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

This book shows Jewell coming into her prime - both funny and emotionally satisfying
Terrific stuff: touching, funny and sentient
A heart-warming page-turner from start to finish . . . Quite possibly her best yet
Jewell's readability and emotional intelligence make her the cream of pop fiction
The perfect summer read
Jewell's light style can be deceptive; her anatomisation of twenty and thirty-something urban relationships is at times uncomfortably keen . . . It's a lot of fun
This novel will make you feel warm inside
Praise for Lisa Jewell
Addictively readable
A joy . . . a fun summer read
All stars
Most relevant
I have read most of Lisa Jewel's books abd enjoyed them. I suppose they couldn't all be good. I've persevered to chapter 20 but I'm still not sure what's going on. To be honest it's the narration.

Awful Narration

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Having read every Lisa Jewell book, I saved this book until last because out of all of her books, it seemed to have the worst reviews. Yes, Lisa Jewell has written better stories but this book made me smile and laugh out loud at times and it didn’t turn out as I expected. The narrator did well, but it was difficult at times to tell Shaun and Ned apart. Having said that, it’s not easy to pull off a male voice. Anyway I’m very glad I read this book and eagerly await new material from my fave author Ms Jewell.

I’m glad I ignored the negative reviews

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After reading some of the reviews I was a bit nervous and didn’t expect much. The narrator is ok- not brilliant, but she’s not as awful as some reviewers made her out to be and after the second chapter, you get used to her.
The story is just a lovely heartwarming story of a family. No twists, no crazy turns, just plain and honest.
I got through it in a few days as I wanted to hear what was happening in their lives at every moment.
If you enjoy a nicely written, feel good story, this is one to read

I loved it

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I nearly gave up on this story due to what I consider to be the overuse of the f.. word. However, having stuck with it, it is a well performed and lovely story.

Shame about the language

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Beautiful story telling by Lisa Jewell, as ever such wonderful characters, bought to life by great narration. A story about a family, their relationships, and a wonderful interloper in the shape of Jervais, who made everyone's life even more colourful. Loved it

Fantastic read

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