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Amazon.co.uk Review
The duck in question is 6-foot tall country girl Ana, all nubby black cardigan and old jeans who "sometimes wondered if she was cursed". Even her neurotically awful mother wonders: "how a girl as unattractive as you could have possibly come from my body, I have no idea". Things are made even more difficult by Bee, Anna's wonderful, urban, older half sister--"petite, big bosomed and pretty"--who once had a hit single called "Groovin' For London", and who is now mysteriously dead.
Anna comes to London to discover what happened, and it's a sobering, yet enlightening experience. Bee had a terrible secret, which she did a good job of hiding from her family and friends in a splash of designer clothes and glamorous opinions. She may have been "vain, flirtatious and self absorbed" and nearly famous, but she was also deeply depressed ("she just existed"). As Anna gradually uncovers the hidden Bee, she's forced to reassess her old life and her ambitions, transforming herself into a kind, witty attractive woman, who wins the heart of a handsome man in the process. Lisa Jewell tells the familiar story in earthy, immediate language and with such relish for contemporary life that it is impossible not to be engaged and entertained. --Eithne Farry
Product Description
Bee Bearhorn had a number-one hit single in 1985 - and was never heard of again. Fifteen years later she is found dead in her flat and nobody seems to care ...
But Ana Wills always day-dreamed about the exotic half-sister she hasn't seen in years. And when she comes to London to clear Bee's flat, she uncovers a life more exotic than she imagined: a secret country cottage, mysterious weekends away, and even a missing cat.
With Bee's closest friends - mad Lol and strong, silent Flint - Ana sets out to discover exactly what did happen to Bee Bearhorn, the one-hit wonder ...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!,
By A Customer
This review is from: One-hit Wonder (Paperback)
I loved this book! As a Lisa Jewell fan, I ordered it instantly and I was glad to find she is up to her usual brilliant standard. The novel is slightly different from her previous offerings as it is a murder mystery as much as love story. However, the book is character-driven as much as it is plot-driven, and Jewell stil focuses on strong characters and scenes of moving emotion, which are her strength. At first, I felt the book took a while to get going, focusing on the heroine, Ana, travelling to London to pack up her dead sister Bee's belongings. But then the pace really kicked in and I found myself franctically turning pages, desperate to see what would happen next. I finished the book in 48 hours and I guarantee you will too - it's a real page-turner! Having recently lost someone I loved, I was intrigued by the bereavement theme of the novel. However, it was not nearly as dark as I expected. Though the book initially seems to be heavier in tone than her previous novels, touching on themes such death, AIDS and disability, they are handled very gently and softly. There is a warm sunny feelgood atmosphere to the novel which is one of Jewell's most endearing qualities as a writer. Reading her book is a little like watching 'Friends' or a good romantic comedy at the cinema - you are left feeling uplifted, wishing the sparkling characters whose lives you shared could step from the pages and become real. Best of all are the characters - all exotically named - Ana, Flint and Lol. At first they all seemed slightly eccentric and I found them a little fantastical compared to the gritty realism of her previous novels. But as the novel progressed, the characters took shape, grew flesh and bones and become real and well-rounded. If I had any criticisms of the novel, it would be that Flint and Ana's love story is perhaps not as strong as Ralph / Jem in 'Ralph's Party' or Dig & Nadine in 'Thirtynothing.' 'Ralph's Party' is, I believe, still her best work, because an ensemble piece was the best way of showing off her skills -the 6 characters from Alamanac Road were all so diverse, allowing her to cover a rich variety of themes and relationships. But 'One Hit Wonder' comes a close second! A friend of mine was put off buying the novel because she thought it was 'Chick Lit', a genre which has received so much bad press recently. However, I'd assert that Jewell doesn't belong in the Chick Lit genre at all - there is nothing fluffy about her work - no heroines worrying about their weight, or silly jokes, or absurd plots involving weddings or Mr Right etc. Her novels are in a league of their own - they are simply strong, well written popular fiction for both male & female readers of all ages.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another jewell from Lisa,
By A Customer
This review is from: One-hit Wonder (Paperback)
Hands up for Lisa proving twice already that she is more than a one hit wonder. 'Ralph's Party' was a great debut, a refreshing read I just couldn't put down even when I was fighting sleep or on the other hand bumping into fellow Tube riders with the book in front of my face. I bought it for pretty much most of my friends and waited impatiently for Lisa's second offering. 'Thirtynothing' was good too, much closer to 'home'. Being a North Londoner for 5 years now I enjoyed the story even more so. With Lisa's first two books I realized that I loved her style of writing, her great sense of humour, her ability to breathe rich and colourful lives into her characters and remind me why I love London. I just finished reading 'One Hit Wonder' and third time in a row felt sad that I have no more pages to look forward to but have to wait for another whole year when Lisa will hopefully publish her fourth novel. Again she didn't disappoint me, 'One Hit Wonder' is a page turner, a really insightful read, very poignant, very funny and also very wise and quite sad. I liked it's mystery unravelling itself slowly and teasingly, skeletons falling out of a padlocked closet, a journey of self discovery and the romance blossoming amongst confusion, craziness, excitement, sadness, and redemption. I particularly liked Anna, the heroine, I think she is my favourite character out of all three books. I cheered for her getting out of her shell and becoming a confident young woman and I cheered for her... falling in love with London. Bee, Flint, Lol, Gay and Zander are also very strong, interesting characters. I really wished at times to be able to sharp shoot like Zander, punch Gay's lights out, go out for drinks dressed up to the nines with Lol, Anna and Flint....In life things happen for a reason and I am so glad that Lisa Jewell managed to show it in this book. She also yet again succeeded in describing London in such amazing detail with obviously a lot of love for the place so I could actually feel, see, hear and smell the warm, buzzing with activity and various smells lovely summer nights in London. I hope Lisa keeps on writing and reminding us of little things in life which are all a part of the big picture. We tend to forget! Thanks Lisa and well done!
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The 'Genius' strikes again!,
By A Customer
This review is from: One-hit Wonder (Paperback)
I have just finished reading One-Hit Wonder after as promised by 'The Times' being in a 'sweaty, addicted reading frenzy' - all I can say is I've got a hell of a lot of sleep to catch up on!!! Lisa's third novel easily joins its Predecessors in being exceptionally well written and thoroughly enjobyable reading. From the moment I read the first line I was utterly hooked. If you can improve on two already brilliant novels - Lisa has done it - well done. I experienced every emotion - it takes a very talented writer to bring you to tears - tears so real you feel you're not really reading fiction at all. I must admit when I first started reading it I thought 'well this is fantastic but where will the romantic coupling come from' - I really thought the book was in the style of mystery fiction but to weave this wonderful romance slowly and carefully into it was an added treat. The suspense is held right until near the very end - which again is real talent - normally with many novels, whilst enjoyable, you invariably guess the outcome very early on. I'm a big fan of this so called 'chic-fic' but Lisa Jewell is surely amongst one of the most talented and unique... Keep up the good work and roll on novel number four!
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