This is a review of a book written in 1998 by Catherine Alliott titled Rosie Meadows Regrets... which has been on the bookshelf for literally years before I read it. I had read another book by the same author a few years ago which I quite enjoyed so must have picked this one up after reading that.

A bit about
In Rosie Meadows Regrets... the main protagonist is of course Rosie, who has been married unhappily to Harry for a couple of years. She feels downtrodden and disrespected by him and the only saving grace is their son Ivo, conceived on their honeymoon and now two years old. After a series of unfortunate events involving Harry being drunk, the final straw breaks on the proverbial camel and Rosie decides once and for all that she is going for a divorce. On the steps of the solicitor's she bumps into a strikingly handsome man whom you can't help but think is going to feature later on in the book... and sure enough Joss turns up as Rosie's new landlord when she finds her own place for her and Ivo to live.

Characters
In addition to Rosie, Harry, Ivo and Joss, there is Rosie's Mum, Dad, sister (Philly) and her husband Miles, friend Alice and a few of Harry's posh chums who Rosie can't really stand. There's also the cute but too young supermarket assistant that appears to have taken a shine to Rosie and she dodges his amorous attempts admirably. Joss has three kids whom Ivo immediately bonds with and Rosie makes friends with Vi the housekeeper and Martha the nanny.

Whodunnit?
Early on in the book Harry dies (this is right at the beginning) and the book turns from unhappy housewife to a whodunit as Rosie is hauled in by the police for questioning. As a side line she discovers that Harry has squandered all their money gambling and also re-mortgaged both properties up to the hilt. In short, she now owes a lot of money to a lot of people. Luckily the landlord is sympathetic to her and halves the rent on her ramshackle cottage that sits in his grounds.

My thoughts
For me, the first 60 pages dragged a little and at 550 pages, I hoped that the pace would pick up a bit and luckily it did. I found myself turning the pages at a fast pace, desperate to know what would happen next in Rosie's misadventures! I liked Aliott's humorous style of writing and found that the book flowed really well. I sort of guessed some of the outcomes as the book went on but didn't work it all out so that was nice to piece together as the book progressed. Some of the characters in the book were hard to weigh up, for example Rosie's sister Philly. I was struggling to work out whose side she was on, as she seemed to go running to their mum all the time with gossip.

Final word
I enjoyed reading 'Rosie Meadows Regrets...' a lot (after the first 60 pages) and felt that there was just the right amount of characters in the book to keep you guessing without it getting confusing. I liked how Rosie shunned all the 'la-di-da' bunch of Harry's friends and their drunken dinner parties, it just wasn't her idea of fun and I don't blame her. She gets herself into little scrapes at all times but still manages to provide for her child Ivo which as a single mother must have been difficult. I would recommend this book as a bit of light hearted reading, brilliant as a holiday read and a bit of escapism from reality.