Cute but sad. Curmudgeonly old guys I "not a nursing home" are greeted with a surprise visit from a granddaughter they didn't know about. Wasn't really ready for the ending but it happens.

What an endearing book! I went into The Big Finish blind and I'm so glad I did. I loved the sweet grumpy Duffy and his story. I loved the brief moments and flashbacks as he reflected on his life. I thought this was a pretty spectacular debut and great development. I'm excited to see what Brooke Fossey comes out with next!

The Big Finish is funny, heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Duffy Sinclair is a gruff and grumpy octogenarian living in Centennial, an assisted living facility. His life is upended when his roommate Carl’s long-lost granddaughter Josie appears. Author Brooke Fossey explores tough themes of alcoholism, infidelity, loneliness, and the fears of aging throughout the book. The colorful cast of supporting characters brighten the story with their rebellious antics and highlight the importance of relationships and the redemptive power of love.

Overall I like a curmudgeon story, and this was a great addition to the canon. Duffy is settled into his life and making the most of the rest of his life in an assisted living facility. He’s flirting with nurses and getting along with his roommate until one day the granddaughter he didn’t know he had comes barreling into his life. She upends everything and makes him remember some of the more unflattering aspects of his own personality. Parts of it were sad, thinking about end of life care, and other parts were too over the top, but overall it was a good ride!

Oh Carl and Duffy how I loved you! I'm a little confused about this cover art though. I can't figure out how it fits into the story at all but it sure drew me in! I thought this one would be a funny story once I started. Even though I laughed several times and the antics of these characters it was a bit more of a heavy story than I was expecting. I think overall it was an enjoyable read so I'm giving it 3 stars.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amusing book about a couple of friends living in a nursing home who decide to help the one's granddaughter who has sneaked into the nursing home needing a place to stay and hide. I didn't manage to finish the book, because it was a little too slow moving for my liking, but it was definitely well written and the part I read (25%) was really quite entertaining. I'm sure more patient readers will love this book. It deals with old age, alcoholism, broken families and growing up.

A heartwarming story for fans of A Man Called Ove. I was hoping for something a little more uplifting, hence the 3 star rating, but I still enjoyed this and think our patrons will really enjoy it.

Duffy, the main character, is an 88 year old man with a good functioning brain and heart but the rest of his body has some difficulty. Duffy might be a curmudgeon but somehow he is likable (maybe because he reminds me of my grandfather). This story shows us that we still have a lot to learn about people and ourselves at any age.

A tale of family and what it means, of friendship and stepping up. I'm not certain I liked the ending, but I wasn't wholly dissatisfied with it , either.

A retirement home and a long, lost granddaughter - an alcoholic girl fleeing an abusive boss/boyfriend. The premise veers into implausibility at times since it's pretty hard to believe that the staff of the retirement home wouldn't discover what's really going on. The characters are endearing and entertaining and I couldn't wait to see how things would work out.

This book deals with some serious topics -- alcoholism, abuse, aging, illness, death, secrets & lies, loneliness, and the meaning of friendship -- but the real story is in the cast of characters. I enjoyed every one of them -- even the cranky and crotchety ones. There are a few surprises and tense moments, but (for the most part) things play out as expected and in a very satisfying manner. I really liked this book -- not Pulitzer material or the "best book" I've read this year, but an pleasant read with characters I enjoyed spending time with.

Brooke Fossey has written a quirky, character-driven debut novel. It is well written and the characters come alive right there in the room with you. They are human with lovable traits as well as some annoying flaws. There are Duffy and Carl - two men in their 80's - roommates in an assisted living facility. Their comfortable reliable life does a complete turn around when a young girl with plenty of figurative baggage crawls through their bedroom window. The shenanigans begin and the boys learn that there is more to life than being comfortable. A fun adventure! It is an enjoyable read - funny and heartwarming. An admirable debut novel and I will keep a lookout for more by Brooke Fossey!

Oh what a joy this book was. It was in the vain of A man called Ove or any of those charming and unsuspecting books. Fossey has a natural way of storytelling and I loved learning that the book was loosely based on her own grandfather. This book is a feel-good book and would be a great gift to give. It's life affirming and warm-hearted.

Duffy, a wise-cracking old man, whose goal in life is to stay in the assisted living facility he's in, life is thrown for a loop when his roommate Carl's granddaughter climbs in their window with a black eye and smelling of booze and no place to go.
The dialogue is witty , the characters are fantastic and the story is poignant and heartwarming. Duffy reminds me of my late father-in-law - cantankerous. This is a good read.

The cover was what made me want to read this, I thought it would be more about seniors going on adventures not all their time spent at an assisted living facility. I did enjoy the story and most of the characters. Detoxing takes a lot more time than happened in this story, I felt that was not covered properly in this book. A quick read with a few bits of humor.

Another fun book in the genre of old folks doing their own thing. Very enjoyable and will appeal to many readers of all ages and especially older readers. A fun read for these times that we are staying close to home

I was pretty excited for this and while it was a good heartfelt read, it was a whole lot less lighthearted than I was expecting and I felt a bit let down because of that. The story was a bit melodramatic at times and felt a bit overdone. There were still some really great things about the book, such as the friendship between Duffy and Carl and how well done all of the characters were. Overall it was a good read, just not what I was expecting.

Let me start off by saying THE BIG FINISH has a very enticing cover. It’s what we drew me into reading it. Great cover! That said I was a little disappointed. Was expecting a more humorous story.

At their assisted living facility Duffy Sinclair and Carl Upton are roommates and best friends, but each has a secret: Carl abandoned an infant daughter, Duffy's an alcoholic. When a bruised, boozy-breathed girl climbs through their window and announces she's Carl's grandchild Josie and needs a place to crash, the men are shocked. As they hide Joise from management (and her boyfriend), Carl seeks to make amends while Duffy encourages Josie to get sober. It's never too late for a do-over in this funny and life-affirming debut.

Why am I such a sucker for a book about senior citizens?? I'm not sure and I don't care. The Big Finish was fun and all of the characters were great. When Carl's estranged granddaughter Josie climbs in through their window, all hell breaks loose for him and his roommate/BFF Duffy Sinclair. What transpires made me laugh, made me tense, and also it made me cry. Like really, really cry.

There's a reason why this book is on every "Best Books of 2020" list.

3.5 stars rounded up .
My expectations for a lighter read fizzled almost from the start. While it was humorous at times, mostly I found it to be pretty sad with a focus on burdens that people carry - secrets that people quietly hold, fear of an elderly man over what the future holds for him if he doesn’t mind his P’s & Q’s, alcoholism and physical abuse. Duffy and Carl, best friends and roommates at an assisted living home, spend their days teasing Nora, one of the nurses and engaging with the other residents. We soon find out that beneath this facade of being content, Carl has a past that he has not confided in Duffy about. Duffy carries the palatable fear of being sent to the less than desirable nursing home if he is deemed not fit for assisted living. All of this comes to the surface when a young drunk woman, Josie climbs through their window. Suffice it to say that the proverbially all hell breaks loose follows.

It felt a little melodramatic at times and some of the antics felt a little over the top, yet there are things that are moving here like the depth of friendship between Duffy and Carl, and the connection that Duffy has with Josie that drive him to risk his own well being to help them. In the end, I had to bump up to 4 stars because I cared about these characters who in spite of the havoc or maybe because of it, found meaning in their bringing with it love.


I received a copy of this book from Berkley through NetGalley.