Thirty years ago Sally fell in love with Frank, a wide boy entrepreneur, now she is married to multimillionaire hedgefund head, on valium and feeling out of control with her life, her children, her friends and her staff in her Leatherhead McMansion. Then overnight everything falls apart and Sally realises that things will never be the same again.
Celebrity novels go one of two ways, either they are wonderful (eg. Graham Norton) or they are like this one. My expectations were high, Giedroyc is a funny woman and her non-fiction articles in magazines have been supremely entertaining, but this was such a disappointment, it felt like a story 'phoned in' using every cliche of the genre. There are a funny episodes but overall I couldn't wait to reach the (predictable) end. ( )

I'm always wary when a well-known face turns their hand to fiction as I think it can go either way. I've read good and bad examples, and the latter tends to occur when all I can hear is that well-known voice coming through stronger than the voices of the characters. Happily, in the Best Things, Mel Giedroyc has managed to write a novel which has her trademark wit, warmth and sassiness without overpowering her own creations.

This is the story of Sally Parker and her family: husband, Frank; children, Cleo, Stephen and Mikey; and niece, Emily. From humble beginnings, Frank has built up a mighty empire with no expense spared. Their mini army of staff means that Sally doesn't need to lift a finger except when she's prancing around playing the perfect hostess or shopping for the finest fripperies at the local farm shop or boutique. Life is good, isn't it? Well, things are about to go really bad for the Parker family and they're on the verge of losing everything as we are introduced to them.

This is one of those stories that focuses on what we should be grateful for in life and this riches to rags tale certainly brings the Parkers down to earth with a bump. I didn't always find it easy to like most of them and their materialistic personalities (Mikey perhaps being the exception) but there were moments when I sympathised and plenty of times when they made me smile or laugh. There's a lot of wit in this book, as you might expect, but underneath it all is a moral to the story and I really enjoyed seeing the way that Sally had to go back to basics and be strong for her family. Go Sally!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading The Best Things but I ended up loving it. It has a hint of the Jilly Cooper about it with some raucous behaviour and some caricaturistic characters that I couldn't help but like. They'd drive me mad in real life but between the pages of a book they were great fun. The writing is engaging and I found it to be a very satisfying romp of a read. I hope to read more books by Mel Giedroyc in the future. ( )

“It's the story of a family who lose everything, only to find themselves, and each other, along the way.”

The book’s strap line provides the perfect summary of The Best Things, the entertaining debut adult novel from British comedian, actor, and presenter, Mel Giedroyc.

Living in a palatial home in Surrey’s most exclusive gated community, hedge fund CEO Frank Parker is proud that his financial success ensures his wife, Sally, and teenage children, Chloe, Stephen, Michaela (Mikey) and (niece) Emily, want for nothing. Sally is conscious of the privilege Frank’s wealth affords her, but with household tasks managed by a contemptuous, territorial housekeeper, her mothering outsourced to an insolent Australian nanny, and her workaholic husband often absent, she’s popping prescription pills to avoid facing the emptiness of her days.
When the financial market suddenly goes to hell, Frank has a nervous breakdown, and when Sally learns they are going to lose everything they have, she realises she has to regain control of her life before she loses her family too.

Giedroyc draws on the familiar cliche’s of ‘money can’t buy happiness’, and of course, ‘the best things in life are free’ in this ‘riches to rags’ story. The pace is a little slow to start as we are introduced to the Parker family, but begins to picks up as their life begins to fall apart. While I thought the plot was fairly predictable, they were some small surprises, some a little absurd, but there was not really much in the way of tension. There is however plenty of humour in The Best Things, as you’d expect from an author who made a living as a comedian, with some cracking quips and amusing banter.

Giedroyc leans quite heavily into the stereotypes of wealthy people, mocking their extravagant excesses, snobbery, and petty , and while I do think many of her characters tend to be quite shallowly drawn, there is some nuance to be found. Frank’s love for Sally, for example, is deep and genuine, even if the expression of his adoration, by removing any stress or challenge from her life, is wholly misguided. I wanted to like Sally more than I did though, I think Giedroyc took a little too long to have her shed her ennui and take some responsibility for her family and their situation. The children were a surprise though, they were probably the most genuine, and sympathetic, characters in the book.

I enjoyed The Best Things, it’s lively, funny and ultimately uplifting. ( )