Lindsey Reviews; The Brazilian Job - Michelle Vernal



Rebecca Loughton is a 34 year old Kiwi who having uprooted from her native New Zealand has emigrated to Dublin with her best friend Melissa.   Rebecca works as a P.A. for a law firm, Fitzpatrick and Co; her life being that of a typical singleton; peppered with drunken shenanigans and an ill fated one night stand with Ciaran Cahill, her boss.  Rebecca has no permanency in her life and has been constantly overshadowed by her older sister Jennifer who in contrast seems to have it all; looks,  money, career and a perfect relationship with her husband and children.  Rebecca, all through her life, has been compared to her older sister which has resulted in self esteem issues and separation from her family.   However, out of the blue, she is contacted by her sister Jennifer who informs her that her husband Mark has had an affair with his secretary and in order to repair their marriage,   Jennifer wants her to come back to Taranga and look after her niece and nephew whilst she goes on holiday with her husband to try to salvage their relationship.   Rebecca reluctantly agrees and with her best friend Melissa in tow, they arrive back in Taranga.  Yet all is not what it seems with her sister Jennifer and Rebecca begins to question whether her sister really is as perfect as she makes out; indeed, arriving back in New Zealand sets off a chain of events which change Rebecca’s life irrevocably, notwithstanding an experience of swimming with dolphins, meeting a gorgeous divorcee and a rather painful Brazilian wax.

Yet another brilliant offering from Ms Vernal.  This is a book about relationships and about how sometimes what people perceive about others is not always the truth.  It was a book about sisters and the dynamics of sibling rivalry, about the tenuous relationships within families and our friends, but how ultimately they are the ones who come through for us in the end.  Rebecca and Jennifer have effectively grown apart but through the breakdown of Jennifer’s marriage, they are able to find themselves again which not only repairs their relationship as sisters but enriches it as they both come to realise their own flaws and those of each other.  The novel was very positive as it showed how once the characters faced their own issues and the problems in their relationships, they are able to move on in their lives.  It was also a love story as Rebecca, between her old boss and the sexy David Seager realises that Mr Right was under her nose all the time.

Funny, fresh and heart-warming. One to savour on a winter’s night.
 







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