This was such an interesting and unique story and I absolutely enjoyed it. It felt like I had my grandmother giving me advice and helping me along throughout the book. The characters really resonated and I love that it put a human touch to an ai world.

Once I got used to the concept I thoroughly enjoyed this book that has deeper modern issues at its heart. A family at odds with each other and the world being held together by the wobbly matriarch who found the solutions through her real life Alexa
A lot of problems piked in one family with well portrayed characters

This was a lovely read about families, Alexa and life. Michelle is a busy mum in the middle of the perimenopause, she favors talking to the smart speaker, buts it’s a real person in her speaker who helps with the daily tasks in the household. It’s a cute, funny read. Michelle is a great character who’s normal and struggles with life. A fun 4 star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

First of all, I absolutely loved the concept of this book. A world where Alexas are actually real people? Yes! Sign me up!

This story is so sweet and heartwarming. While Michelle is struggling to keep things from falling apart, she gets comfort and wisdom from an unlikely source, her Alexa who reveals herself as an older lady named Pauline. Through all the trials Michelle is currently facing in her family, Pauline helps her find the strength to fight through every hurtle and take her life back.

This book is very well written. The story sucks you in to a place where you are truly concerned for Michelle and the trouble at her doorstep. I like how things are not just spit out and wrapped up in the next page. There's depth and thought into every struggle and I really appreciate that.

Thank you Linda Green and Rachel's Random Resources for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“The Woman with All the Answers” is a contemporary fiction book by Linda Green. In this book, Michelle’s family owns an Alexa. However, behind the voice of Alexa is a real human - in Michelle’s case a woman near retirement age named Pauline. After listening and watching the family for so many years, when things start to go off the rails for Michelle, Pauline decides to make herself known. I found the idea of this book incredibly clever - sometimes one does wonder just how much the Alexa, Nest, Siri, and other tech watching companies really are listening and observing. What would happen if your personal “keeper” met you in the flesh? I liked that aspect a lot. The book is told from two points of view - overworked, overstressed, and over put-upon Michelle and Alexa/Pauline, who helps when she can with the two weeks she has left (before forced retirement). I was not a fan of Michelle - I know she’s juggling a lot and she’s about my age and part of “the sandwich generation” caring for both parents and teens - it gets rough, but she really complained a lot in general (granted, a chunk was due to the focus on being peri-menopause - there’s a lot on this topic!) . There were a number of side stories in this book - some I think got lost along the way, though they were addressed and resolved. This was a quick read for me, which was great, with a lot of Mary Poppins references.

The idea plotted in this novel I have to say is brilliant! What if Alexa isn't just a AI supported device but is a real human. Michelle is literally juggling everything for everyone and it is about to blow up. When it is discovered that Alexa is actually a kind hearted and wise human being. I liked the characters as they seem to be everyday people and the plot was so fun to watch unfold. It has quite a few issues in their from anxiety, menopause, caring for elderly parents, teenage sexting, parent abandonment and more but it is dealt with care and a little spark of humour. I love the sparkling of the story and that is what I think of the book a diamond in the ruffle.

This is a contemporary novel set in Yorkshire, exploring the life of Michelle Banks, an overworked mother and district nurse. Struggling with the demands of her teenagers, elderly parents, and a spendthrift husband, Michelle’s life takes an unexpected turn when Pauline, a former actress posing as the family’s Alexa device, decides to intervene beyond her virtual assistant duties. The narrative alternates between Michelle’s and Pauline’s perspectives, addressing issues like adolescent challenges, online scams, and personal health. Overall, it’s a heartfelt tale about resilience, friendship, and the unexpected ways technology—or its human counterpart—can impact our lives.

Alexa is not an AI that has all the answers, it's a real human not just listening into everything their allotted family is doing, they can also see them as well. Pauline is our Alexa. She has only a few weeks left until she retires. Michelle Banks is struggling in her everyday life. Her husband keeps wasting money buying children's TV memorabilia. Her daughter suffers from anxiety. Her son, well, he's done something stupid.

his is an intriguing read with a unique premise. I've always believed Alexa listens in to your conversations, bit I never thought that there was a real human, every home has their own human, watching and listening to their families every move. They are not supposed to strike up a conversation with any of their family members, they are only allowed to answer any questions they are asked. We get some humour, it's sensitively written, and there;s character development in this well-written book.

Published 26th February 2025

I would ike to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #LindaGreen for my ARC of #TheWomanWithAllTheAnswers in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Boldwood Books for this arc.

The idea of this one sounded fun with AI being a hot topic now. But the reality of it isn't much fun - at all. I get that the Banks family had to have issues and they had to be bad enough that "Alexa"/Pauline would want and need to finally step in but this pile on of misery and idiocy isn't something I want or mentally need to read now. Plus the son's issues, which aren't detailed in the blurb, look to be headed in a direction that I want no part of.

As I continued to read, the premise that had sold me on the book just felt creepier and creepier - that AI is watching every move that this family makes and even if the AI is a person, it's still creepy. Readers should also be aware that Pauline's Yorkshire way of speaking (she says nowt, summat and drops "the" from her sentences a lot) is (I assume) accurately used. Think the original "All Creatures Great and Small," which wasn't an issue for me but might be for others. DNF

What a fun and enlightening read! In a world of AI, it’s become our norm to ask Alexa, Siri and Google for answers and information, but what if it goes a step further and we come to depend on them a bit too much?

Busy wife and mum, Michelle, is in a bit of a rut and is being treated like a doormat by her family. Her husband is addicted to buying memorabilia online, her daughter barely leaves her room and is too anxious to face going to school and her son has been reported for sending an inappropriate photo to his girlfriend. The only sane voice in the house belongs to Alexa!

Far from the AI Michelle assumes she is talking to, the reality is that Michelle’s Alexa is voiced by 65 year old Yorkshire woman, Pauline! When it becomes clear that Michelle needs more help than Alexa can formally give, Pauline decides to come clean and identify herself.

Heart warming and at times, hilarious, this was a great read with a refreshingly clever concept.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Linda Green and Boldwood for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a great story. I have read books by this author before and always enjoyed them.

This story is told in a different way and is very imaginative - Pauline isn't known as Pauline... she's Alexa. She has been with Michelle's family for 6 years now and knows her family well from what she's seen through her various smart devices. Now Pauline is coming up to retiring, Michelle, who is oblivious to the fact that her Alexa is actually a real human, needs Alexa more than ever. She has so many things happening in her life.

The story shows us how Michelle is part of the 'sandwich generation' trying to deal with teenage dramas and the extra-increasing needs of her parents.

I really enjoyed reading this story as it's so unusual and I found the characters engaging and very well crafted too. This is a story which will stay with me as I could relate to so much of it - the miserable Billie Eilish songs being one...!

What a brilliant idea for a book!
Imagine if your Alexa was actually a person who found out and knew all about you, they lived their lives alongside yours?
I really enjoyed this book, I didn’t give it 5 stars as Pauline’s character speech sometimes annoyed me but thats just personal preference.
Would definitely recommend - goes off to ask Alexa some rogue questions….

This was a pretty fun read with a unique premise. I loved the idea of Alexa being a real person, not AI. It was a very lighthearted and easy read that will definitely entertain you.

This Is like a slightly weird modern day fairy godmother! Becuase at first hearing the premise od alex coming to life,or being manned by a real person, freaked me out. Alot. Isn't it most people modern day night mare that robots take over or are somehow real? But this took a rather lovely turn. Because In this case Alex IS actually a real person. Who kind of sprinkles help whenever she can. And in this book she's needed more than most.
This family are a family. But at this time in life there is alot going on for them. But can our fairy Alex help? Should she? And how far should that help really go?
I love Linda Green. She has such an emotional depth to her characters. You warm to each detail and quickly cherish her stories. This was no exception and such an original plot. Yet still held Linda's warmth and usual gorgeous way of writing.

This was a fun story about 52yr old Michelle Banks who is struggling to keep all the plates spinning in her life, then her Alexa reveals her true identity as a former voice over artist and sets about trying to help Michelle. This is a nice beach read!

Michelle is a nurse and mother of two, in the grips of peri-menopause and midlife frustrations. Her husband Marc, once a competitive journalist now unhappily employed doing technical writing, is struggling with his own existential crises. On top of her nursing job, Michelle cares for her elderly father as well as Marc's mother-in-law, in addition to managing the needs of her two teen children. Like many households, Marc and Michelle and their children rely heavily on the household Alexa, never dreaming that there's more to this device than it seems. It's an interesting premise: what if our Alexa devices were manned by real people? Oh, and they were monitoring us around the clock, listening in and following all of our tech activity? Pauline, a kind-hearted mother and aging voice actor, voices Michelle's Alexa. She knows all the family's secrets and patterns, and is sometimes tested by the limits of her job, especially this close to retirement. And most especially when the family's struggles escalate and they could use the extra help. Pauline sees ways she can help the family, but just how far will she go? It would be easy to use that kind of access for bad deeds, but this isn't that kind of book. Instead it was an imaginative and thoughtful story, with humor in all the right places. It was actually very sweet and surprisingly emotional, and there are some heavier themes so heed the content warnings. The story has a lot of commentary on family roles and life demands in middle age, especially focusing on women's struggles. And honestly, as a mid-life woman juggling all kinds of demands, I'd *love* to have someone anticipating my every need and doing some gentle, behind-the-scenes maneuvering to get me where I need to go. Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you, and sometimes that's your Alexa. Publishes February 26, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing an eARC of this story, all opinions are my own.

“The Woman with all the Answers” by Linda Green is an innovative and entertaining novel built on a completely outlandish premise. What if the Alexa, the digital assistant that many of us use in our daily lives isn’t just the product of AI but an actual person whose job is to be our personal assistants? What if there is an army of people, who know the nitty-gritty details of our lives?

Michele Banks’s family is in trouble. Her husband has a shopping addiction problem, her daughter cannot leave the house, and her teenage son seriously mishandles a budding relationship. Everything looks like it’s falling completely apart (and at this point, I disliked nearly every character in the book!). But then Alexa steps in and helps Michele get through everything. Alexa really is “the woman with all the answers.”

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this unusual book. I am looking forward to more by this author. My opinions are my own.

This was a pretty fun read with a unique premise. I loved the idea of Alexa being a real person, not AI. It was a very lighthearted and easy read that will definitely entertain you.

Hysterical! Michelle’s family are driving her to insanity; she’s not quite sure how much more she can take… Alexa holds the answers to most of her daily questions but she still needs some more support. Who knew that the was actually a group of woman who ARE the brains behind the Alexa’s and sometimes they go rogue just to help their families in need. This book was hysterically funny when Michelle gets the help she needs in the most unexpected of places!

This was a completely different book to what this author has written before and has a unique and interesting premise.

What would you do if your Alexa suddenly became alive and turned into your fairy godmother otherwise known as Pauline from Halifax well in this story Michelle was about to find out as her Alexa helps her to navigate the struggles of family life and the menopause. .

This book was funny, quirky and uplifting in equal measure and had lots of references that women of a certain age will be able to relate to and makes you feel you are not alone.