The Getaway Girls: A hilarious feel good summer read

​I wasn't sure where Dee McDonald was going to go with Connie, her main character from the previous book, The Runaway Wife, but if anything I enjoyed this book even more than the first as it incorporated two great sidekick characters, Maggie and Gill, who together with Connie drove across Europe in Belle, Connie's newly acquired camper-van, to see if Connie could find out anything about Italian relatives she had just found out she had. The three characters were so different and didn't even know each other that well initially, but through their journey became much closer. As in the last book they got into lots of amusing, and some risky (Maggie and the hidden cash!) escapades on their journey, and met some great people who helped them out on their journey. You have to admire three 70-something ladies just taking off in a camper van without really knowing much about camper vans or driving across Europe. They all evolved in character as they went along and shed their hang-ups a bit (and Gill had a haircut and got rid of her beehive!) and just relaxed and become more laid back and European I suppose as they went along. Great ending too, absolutely perfect, and even better I hope it will lead into another book on Connie's adventures, as you can't just leave it there Dee McDonald! Absolutely fabulous book, I really love Connie's adventures and really, really hope that they continue as I for one will definitely be reading about them.

I really enjoyed MacDonald’s debut, The Runaway Wife, which featured a 6o something Connie, fed up with the constant refusal of her husband and children ‘seeing’ or ‘appreciating’ her – so she packed her little green car (Kermit) and started driving- meeting new people, having adventures, and actually deciding that settling for what she had wasn’t quite enough. Now divorced, pushing 70 and living in London for the moment, she’s recently been given a box full of her family history – a history she never knew as her parents were killed in an accident when she was little, and she was raised by her aunt and uncle and their children. Discovering that she had a grandmother born in Italy is enough to get her feet itchy, and a half-formed plan is hatched. But since her divorce, she’s been (mostly to get out and meet people) running a class on flower arranging, two of her “from the beginning” students are Gill and Maggie, and when she announces the end of the course, the two seem particularly downhearted – so she invites the two to the pub for a drink and lunch, and shares her plan of traveling to Italy and discovering her roots. Gill is coming on 70, with six children and is finding life lonely and wants little more than a man to make her feel more complete. Maggie has been with the same man who brought her to London from Glasgow some years earlier: he’s a low-level criminal, who has currently been seen about town with a young blonde in tow. With a son who’s emigrated to Australia, and her fear of flying, she’s angry, neglected and feeling trapped. The three find a camaraderie in the pub, and set a weekly ‘get together’ before parting. But Connie’s determination to go to Italy hasn’t waned, in fact a chance sighting of an RV dealership have her looking at one of her own – a small, perfect for her trip camper – that soon is overcome by thoughts of the larger and more luxurious “La Bellisima” model , gently used and pushed by the salesman. Is it possible that she could survive (and thrive) on the trip by road, taking Gill and Maggie along? And here comes the fun – from Gill’s determination to flirt with everything and anything in trousers, to Maggie’s sudden windfall taken from a duffel bag shoved in her oven, the ladies are adjusting to personalities, new sights, changes and a bit of tension as Maggie’s ex is following them everywhere. From meeting other Brits who are almost caricatures of an earlier time, to finding friendship, support and hope in the next chapter, the story is clever and light – with plenty of lovely descriptions of place and journeys with these women who are far different from what one would expect from these three woman who find that sometimes it’s only the journey that matters, not the destination. It’s not necessary to read Connie’s story (The Road Trip) to enjoy this book, but if you want a modern-day finding yourself story a la Kerouac with a heroine in an age where slippers, knitting and that birthday card with a fiver are expected, these two are books for you. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Read in one day on the beach in Majorca... Transported me to all the places mentioned and made me want to visit... Made me laugh, made me cry... Love these books... Please write more!