Sometimes you have to take the law into your own hands...
After losing her high-powered job in Hong Kong, forty-something widow and lawyer, Maggie Macbeth, turns up on the doorstep of her old sidekick, Cath, in the sleepy Peak District village of Archdale. A fish out of water, Maggie comes into conflict with everyone and everything - especially Cath's awful friend, Tiggy - and rock bottom is just around the corner. But it turns out Maggie isn't the only one in trouble. When a crisis hits the local community, Maggie has a choice: to give up on life, or go back to her legal roots and fight for justice. But can she save the day as well as herself?
This laugh-out loud debut novel shows that no battle is too big when you've got friends on your side.
What did I think?
Stacey Murray's debut, The Curious Case of Maggie Macbeth is a very entertaining story with a larger than life protagonist. Maggie Macbeth is kind of like a hedgehog: prickly and tough on the outside but soft and caring on the inside. If you make friends with Maggie I think you'll have a friend for life, such as in the case of her friend, Cath.
Glaswegian Maggie Macbeth makes quite an entrance to the story when she turns up out of the blue at her friend's cafe in Derbyshire clutching a traffic cone. I worked in Glasgow for a wee while so a Glaswegian clutching a traffic cone did make me chuckle in the same way as it did when I first saw the traffic cone perched atop the Duke of Wellington statue in Glasgow city centre. A stickler for the rules, as evidenced by the confiscated traffic cone, Maggie inevitably seems to rub people up the wrong way at first but she's definitely someone you want on your side when the chips are down.
It's not a saying I've ever adopted but it came to mind when I was reading Maggie's story: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Widowed and unemployed in her forties, Maggie has been handed more than her fair share of lemons but I felt that she got more job satisfaction through helping a local farmer with a loan contract than she ever did with any of her high flying clients in Hong Kong. Of course, it helps when the farmer in question is a bit dishy!
I loved Maggie and Cath's longstanding friendship and the strain it was put under when Maggie seemed to have outstayed her welcome. Cath's dog, Jazz, has to get a special mention as she's such a fantastic little character and she almost stole the show; she really took a shine to Maggie and the feeling is definitely mutual. What I loved most is how things didn't always turn out as expected for Maggie, making it very realistic and true to life.
Gloriously heart-warming, The Curious Case of Maggie Macbeth is a fabulous feel-good book. It might take a while for readers to warm to Maggie but she is well worth getting to know in this charming and witty debut from Stacey Murray.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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