Gina is left in the lurch when her husband of 43 years decides that he no longer wants to be married to her. At 71 she isn't sure what do do until an advert for a lady's companion catches her eye. She finds herself in Norfolk at a large house for a week long wedding party being companion to an 89 year old Dot, who has an ulterior motive in having her there - looking for a painting stolen by the owner of the house.
I enjoyed this cozy mystery where you know the villain of the story and the fun is these two piecing together the clues together. Throw in a grumpy teenager and villainous chef the the story kept me hooked all the way through. There is a possibility of another book in the series and I would really look forward to reading this.

I found this book to be a really fun novel with some rather lovely characters. After forty three years of marriage, Gina suddenly finds herself single as her husband decides he needs to find himself. She’s looking for a new role in life and finds an advert for a ‘companion’ for an older lady, Dot. How hard could it be? Spending a week with Dot and her family at her granddaughter’s wedding on a luxury Norfolk estate. However it appears Dot has an alternative reason for hiring a companion. It’s heart warming, witty and I found it hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the chance to review.

Gina was feeling beige, she’s had list her sparkle, hee husband has left her and wanted a divorce and to put the house up for sale. In her 70’s she was an empty nester all alone without a purpose and her life had to change. She finds a job as a companion for Dot. Dog is spunky and full of life and mid 80’s. They click and Gina is set to work using her art historian background to search for Dot’s missing artwork whilst at a family wedding.
Juliet is 13 and Dot’s grandaughter. She shows them her technical skills and they become a fierce trio. This was a really good fun read and I loved it.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

This was a very good read. It had everything suspense. funny, heart warming. Gina and Dorothy were great characters and became such good friends. It just goes to show that it is never to late to start again. A great mystery which was well written and was a real page turner.

I’ve become fond of books about women in their 60’s and 70’s, not only because I’m in that age group, but also because of challenges described, whether retirement life, loss of a spouse or even divorce. The two main characters in this book, Dorothy and Gina, have each lost their husbands—Dorothy through her husband Philip’s tragic death after an art theft at their home, and Gina through her husband Doug’s journey to “find himself” and leaving her. Both ladies need to find a new path forward in life.

The book starts a bit slowly, with Gina needing funds to start over and becoming a temporary companion to the older Dorothy, who is in her late eighties, during a family wedding at the mansion of the bride’s uncle, Leonard, who had previously worked for Dorothy’s late husband. Dorothy believes Leonard was behind the theft of a painting from her home that resulted indirectly in Philip’s death. She involves Gina in her quest to find the painting at Leonard’s home during the wedding week and the story evolves from there.

Gina, Dorothy, Leonard and other characters are well-drawn and though the plot is a mite convoluted, it did increasingly hold my interest. I did enjoy the book and would recommend it as a light read. The last few pages hint at a sequel that I will look forward to.

Not what I expected at all, which was a bit of an hilarious caper of octogenarians racing about the Home Counties. This was a lot deeper and more reflective of the position you can find yourself in once retired and losing loved ones. Great to read a book about the older generations and their views on the modern world.
Gina had been looking forward to retirement years with her husband of over forty years, when he decides he wants more and is not going to find it with her. After being deserted and asked for a divorce and to sell their home, Gina applies for a companion position accompanying Dorothy to a family wedding party in Norfolk. They bond well when they meet for an interview. However once she is in the Manor House in Norfolk, all is not what she had at first assumed and it appears there are other reasons why she is there.
A bit of mystery, some beautiful art, fabulous parties, dinners and more!
Really enjoyed this book, an easy read that was fun and kept your attention. Easy to imagine and relate to, great characters and food for thought!!
This is not a caper, it’s a great read!
Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for the early read!! Loved it!

A very cute book, although somewhat hard to follow. It had a lot of characters and I had trouble imagining them, but the story was endearing and worth it. It was a very inspiring and hopeful tale, not my favorite but definitely worth the read.

Really enjoyed this mystery story which was so much more than that. It is a story of aging, new opportunities, new friendships and breaking away from old habits and people. Gina doesn't know what she'll do when her husband of 40 plus years leaves to "find himself" She immediately takes up a short term position as companion to a rich old lady who needs some assistance at a very posh family wedding. The two become firm friends but there was more to the companion advert than Gina knew. Soon she has turned detective and is trying to solve the mystery of a missing piece of art. Gina hasn't had as much fun in years and as the week moves on she realises her new life might not be too bad after all. A gentle, cosy read and I'm sure there must be a sequel in here somewhere!
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

What a rollicking fun read!
It shows you don't have to lose your adventurous side just because you are on the other side of 70!
Gina is reeling from the news that her husband of 43 years is leaving her to find himself and wishes to end their marriage. She's given her all to the marriage and her family, losing sight of herself in the process.
A chance response to an advert in a magazine requesting a companion for an elderly lady spurs Gina on to apply.
Widowed Dorothy may be nearing the end of her eighties, but a silly fall will not stop her, even if her family feels she needs more support.
Luckily for them both, Dorothy meets Gina and decides if anyone is worth the job she is.
But it ends up being more of a private detective job than a companion/carer, as Dorothy finds out that Gina's knowledge of art history may be precisely what she is looking for in solving the mystery of a theft and the subsequent death of her husband.
They are to attend a wedding with an ulterior motive at the beautiful home of eccentric and rather unlikeable Leonard.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I loved spirited octogenarian Dorothy, with her ideas, and her granddaughter, Juliet, who joined their band of investigators and made what would be a boring week of wedding stuff into something far more exciting for a young teenager.
Gina's character develops and strengthens through the story, and it is a joy to see her find herself again and learn to believe in her own abilities.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

A heartwarming enjoyable cosy mystery featuring - hooray - two older ladies, Dorothy and Gina. Friendship, fun and a mystery to solve all centred around a family wedding. A lively read with relatable characters.

A very enjoyable read. I think the title is a slight misnomer as they were really behaving very well. Dorothy is forced into taking a companion by her daughter but when she meets Gina, she realizes that she is just the person to help retrieve her stolen painting. Dot's grandson is getting married and the whole family stay at the bride's uncle's mansion for a week before the wedding. Uncle Leonard is the suspected thief so Dot and Gina have a week to prove it. Apart from trying to get all the family members straight in one's head, it is a fun read. I will definitely read more of Kate's books.

Free courtesy of Netgalley

This is the first book I have read written by Kate Galley, it was a good book, with a good story and very well written. The characters were believable and I did like the ones I was supposed to and dislike the other. There was just something missing that made it to that 5* for me, I just didn't feel like I didn't want to put it down. The old girls didn't behave that badly in my opinion.

The story centres around Gina, whose husband just up and left and is forcing her to sell the house. As she is in her 70's and gave up her career to look after her family, she doesn't really know what to do. She sees an advertisement for a ladies companion for a week, to help out at a week long wedding, but Dorothy doesn't want a companion but in the interview, she realises that Gina's former career was an antique's expert and realises she can use Gina's help to find a stolen painting at the country estate where the wedding will be held. Gina doesn't find out the plan until she gets to Norfolk and reluctantly agrees to help.

I would recommend this book as the story is good and it might have the sparkle for other readers that was sadly missing for me.

This book made me laugh so much. It's such a great storyline. I can not wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone.

A cosy mystery featuring’’ ladies of an older generation’ . Gina needs to reassess her life having been dumped by her husband and Dorothy is supposedly in need of a companion and still not over the sudden death of her husband . Together they make a formidable team to unravel the mystery of her husband’s assailant and the simultaneous theft of a painting . All this is wrapped around an extravagant family wedding .

3.5/5 stars.

Yes, there's a mystery in this book, but I was most pleased with the friendship between our two main characters Dorothy and Gina! This is the book that reminds you it's never too late to begin again.

The mystery is 3 stars --- ehh okay. Very plain Jane if you ask me.

The friendship and the rest of the story a solid 4 stars.

A entertaining read with mystery, jasper's and intriguing memorable characters. The complexity of family dynamics always show at weddings and no more so when an elderly relative goes digging to solve a mystery of a lost painting with the help of their companion. Dorothy and Gina make a good partnership and enjoyed watching their friendship grow as the story progresses with unexpected turns. It was a lovely story in a beautiful setting made special by the age of the protagonists.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was a lovely little mystery! Gina is hired to be Dorothy's companion, but Dorothy needs her for help in finding a painting that was stolen from her home. Gina has just separated from her husband, and this opens a new world for her to find herself again.
The friendship that blooms between Gina and Dorothy is beautiful, and I am so excited to read more in the future.

I enjoyed The Second Chance Holiday Club so when the author reached out to me with a widget from NetGalley I jumped at the chance and am I ever glad I did.

I am a lot younger than the ladies in this story (Dorothy and Gina) but I could relate to them with my kids being grown and being divorced. Plus their sense of humour was great too…Gina’s son called the dog shithead for eating shoes etc. and I died laughing. I adored these ladies and how they helped each other and at the same time helped themselves.

The chapters alternate between the two main character’s points of view and I loved being inside their heads…they don’t suffer fools easily and it was amazing reading about female leads of a certain age (and a third young woman in her early teenage years joins them.) I loved these three characters so much. Not all the characters are likable, especially Leonard, I loathed him and his ilk. But even some of the bad ones are trying to do better and I admire anyone who does that. Leonard likes to think of himself as an art connoisseur but he’s really just a hoarder of expensive things. I loved the descriptions of the art, I could visualize each piece so clearly. And I am a lover of Murano glass from Italy.

Even though the book was quite humourous there are some tough topics in the story, especially dealing with grief and divorce. Gina is also having to deal with going back to work and finding a new job late in life. Galley knows how to write strong female characters and their being older just added to the fun. This one goes into cozy mystery territory and I was so here for it. I loved the ending and am wondering if there will be a book two. (Please)

Now I have to pick up The Golden Girls Road Trip for the Kate Galley trifecta.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I loved reading this book.

Gina’s husband leaves her as he wants to find himself. Now she must find somewhere to live as the house has been put up for sale.

She replies to an ad to become an associate to an older woman who is going to a wedding in a different area.

Gina thinks she won’t have to do much, apart from helping with the general daily tasks.

But when she meets Dorothy, what she thought she’d be doing isn’t going to happen.

Dorothy wants to solve a mystery of a painting at the place where the wedding is held.

Will Gina and Dorothy find success?

I recommend this book.

This was such a fun book, and I'm so glad I decided to request it on a whim. I loved watching Gina and Dorothy grow as friends and seeing Gina find more confidence and self worth. I did have a bit of trouble remembering how all the characters were connected to, but overall I enjoyed that there was a wide ranging cast. The setting was perfect for the mystery (and wedding) and I will definitely be looking to reading more books by the author.