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PippiLangkous
Jan 6, 2008, 02:30 AM
Hi, I'm looking for a book title and author of a book I recently read on holiday and lost.

It was written by a woman and released in the last few years and the cover was pale yellow. It would probably be classified as chick lit but was darkly amusing.

The basic plot is 3 British families who end up on holiday in Italy.

Family 1 has two sons, a mother called Alice and (I think) a father called Giles. Alice is a frugal and dominant housewife who eats lots of biscuits! And Giles is cheating on her with a girl called Peanut.

Family 2 has a father (Charlie?) who divorced his wife and went off with a younger woman (Nancy?) They have a young daughter with red hair and he has two sons from his previous marriage. Nancy(?) has slept with Alice's husband in the past and fears her young daughter might be his rather than Charlie's(?)

Family 3 is very well-to-do and has a trouble-making teenage daughter and baby twins, one of which is called Lettice.

One of Alice's sons has learning difficulties and 'kidnaps' the daughter of family 2 and hides her in the room of the large house near where they are staying. Alice works it out and while everybody is frantically searching for the child she claims credit for finding her. Peanut marries a famous comedian, Giles reads about it in the paper and ends up getting drunk and drowning himself in the sea at the end of the book.

I hope someone can help! Thanks

Synnen
Jan 6, 2008, 02:43 AM
Is it "Having a Lovely Time" by Jenny éclair?

PippiLangkous
Jan 6, 2008, 06:57 AM
That's the badger! Thanks soooooo much for that, saved me many more hours fruitlessly trawling the internet! I'll sleep easier tonight!