Control Freaks

I've read over the last couple of days The Control Freak Chronicles by Sarah Tucker. I suppose it falls into the genre of chick lit though there is more substance to it than many such books.

Helena has built a life for herself and her son Freddie in the small seaside town of Castleford following her divorce from control freak Leonard. Then everything starts to fall apart - she loses her job as a radio presenter, Leonard announces he is moving to Castleford to be near Freddie and her father is seriously ill. But she has good friends in Victoria and Esther and she is offered a job co-producing a documentary about Castleford and why it's such a peaceful place to live. The job presents its own challenges and new and interesting people to get to know.

Some of the scenes are hilarious as is the dialogue. The book makes serious points about how unimportant appearances are and about love and friendship but it never labours the point. The most important lesson Helena learns is that you cannot control anyone except yourself. Anyone who reads the book will recognise people they know in Leonard and the way he behaves. I found it entertaining reading with a serious point to it. There are some poignant incidents in it which are much better handled in my opinion than those in Knit Two by Kate Jacobs which I read a few days ago.