Keep me posted (by Lisa Beazley)

(Amazon UK link)

I’d never heard of Lisa Beazley - unsurprising, as this is her debut novel. When I spotted it on the ‘Bookbag’ shelves, available for review, I decided that it sounded like my kind of book.

‘Keep me Posted’ is written in a light-hearted, informal style, narrated by a young mother called Cassie who lives in New York. She and her husband Leo have twin toddlers, and her life is busy, full of technology and fast food. Her older sister Sid is more laid back, and something of a technophobe; they used to be close, but haven’t really been in touch since Sid and her family moved to Singapore.

So they decide to write and post real letters to each other for a year. Cassie doesn’t trust the international mail, so she scans all the letters, and then decides to make a backup on a private blog…

The first half of the book follows Cassie’s life, interspersed with a few of the letters. I could relate to her quite well as a stressed mother, finding the noise and chaos overwhelming at times. I got a bit muddled with some of her friends, and kept forgetting who was who, but it didn’t matter over-much.

Then suddenly everything changes. I could barely put the book down in the second half, as events spiral out of control, although the last few chapters lead to a satisfactory conclusion.

The writing is good, if a little over-peppered with obscenities for my tastes. Sometimes I find an informal style to be a bit irritating in a novel, but the author has got it just right, in my view. Probably intended mostly for younger women, it appealed to me despite my more advanced years.

There’s not a whole lot of plot, as it’s character-based, but there’s plenty of action and I found myself growing quite fond of Cassie’s boisterous twins. It would make ideal holiday reading; it doesn’t need much thought, and while I won't necessarily read it again, I enjoyed it.

You can also read my longer review of 'Keep me Posted' on the Bookbag site.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's Book Reviews