Jill Mansell (Open House, The Unexpected Consequences of Love) has been a reader favorite in England for decades, and in that time she has built a strong American audience as well. Now her 1991 novel Fast Friends is being published in the U.S. for the first time. Camilla Stewart, Loulou Marks and Roz Vallander initially met at school. Fast-forward nearly 20 years, however, and Loulou owns an extremely trendy wine bar, Roz is a popular TV presenter and poor Camilla is a frumpy mum.
After a chance encounter with Roz at Harrods department store, Camilla spontaneously decides to invite her old friends for a dinner party. She is thrilled to show off her famous friends--until she discovers that not only has her husband, Jack, been having an affair, but he's been having an affair with Roz.
Loulou consoles a shell-shocked Camilla, encouraging her to live a little. And to her surprise, Camilla discovers that life can be fun, when not under the thumb of a selfish husband.
Aptly capturing the complicated nuances of long-term friendships among women, Fast Friends explores the lives of all three characters: Camilla's transformation, the loneliness Roz hides beneath her posh, pristine exterior and Loulou's dissatisfaction with the thorny state of her love life. Throw in some paparazzi, a rock star and a championship golfer, and the friends' personal problems are suddenly even more involved. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella or Marian Keyes, Fast Friends is engaging and entertaining. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.