JESSICA DETTMANN
Out now!
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Without Further Ado
'Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more. Men were deceivers ever . . .'
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Since she was sixteen, Willa's curious touchstone in life and work has been the 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing. She's always looking for The Feeling, the stirring in her heart - and loins - that she gets when watching the opening scenes.
Now she's navigating her mid-thirties, her career as a romance publisher in an unusual family business, and her determination to remain child-free, while quietly holding out for a love as big as Beatrice and Benedick's.
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But when relationships start to get complicated between Willa, her cousin Imogen and the four sons of the family she works for, and the events of her own life begin to mirror the plot of her beloved comedy, Willa must consider whether there is such a thing as too much ado.
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A delightfully Shakespearean romantic comedy about modern love, women's roles and how the films and stories we grow up with shape us.
'THIS HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY LOVELY is hilarious, poignant, and a genuine page-turner. The characters are beautifully drawn; complex, flawed, relatable. Even the seemingly irredeemable reveal their humanity. Dettman’s tone is addictively dry and often laugh-out-loud funny, but the family drama that unfolds is a proper yarn, with lovely dramatic twists and gorgeous revelations and resolutions ...simply a cracking holiday reading for anyone who has ever found themselves in a family.
TIM MINCHIN
'A totally engaging and disarmingly charming writer.'
KATHY LETTE
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'Dettmann is a fine comic writer. She has an eye for the small details, irritations and inspirations of life which coupled with a truly original turn of phrase and great way with a gag makes for sparkling and heart-warming reading.'
BEN ELTON
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'With humour and heart, Dettmann weaves an unforgettable tale about the lives we choose, and the lives that choose us. Dettmann nails the sad, funny and bizarre nuances of family life in this gripping novel that will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty, Jojo Moyes and Marian Keyes.'
SALLY HEPWORTH