Nice Work (If You Can Get It)

October 1, 2016
Can four retirees open a successful restaurant together in a quaint little town on the French Riviera?In her follow-up to Not Quite Nice (2015), Imrie revisits Bellevue-Sur-Mer, an expat oasis tucked between the glitz and glamour of Monte Carlo and Cannes. In this installment, four British seniorsTheresa, Carol, William, and Benjaminpool their resources to open a restaurant, selecting a site that's more than a bit of a fixer-upper. In addition to issues with the property, the friends face numerous logistical roadblocks in launching their business. (They also upset fellow restaurateurs in the area.) As typical Brits, they keep calm and carry on until the road appears smooth. But is it? An intruder seems to want something from all of them. Then theres Sally, an actress who left the industry under dubious circumstances and seeks privacy in her forced retirement. As her friends deal with restaurant challenges, Sally juggles a new relationship with a Russian billionaire and a frenemy from her past who's in town for the Cannes Film Festival. As the bubbly excitement of the festival spills over to Bellevue-Sur-Mer, scandals, love triangles, and secrets are revealed. Despite her recent foray into novel writing, Imrie is best known for her screen work, having appeared in such films as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Calendar Girls, and Nanny McPhee. Her ability to advance a written plot is not as fully developed as her work as an actor, but those who enjoy British humor and colloquialisms will surely find this a lovely read. A bit plodding at first, this novel wont immediately grab readers with its engaging plot. Rather, it will slowly charm those up for a story that gradually unfolds into something delightful.

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November 1, 2016
British actress and writer Imrie returns to Bellevue-Sur-Mer, France, a short drive along the Mediterranean coast from Nice, the scene of her first novel, Not Quite Nice (2015). We rejoin her quirky gang of British expats as they dive into a joint retirement venture: refurbishing an abandoned restaurant and reopening it in record time to catch the lucrative summer tourist season. Theresa is to be the chef, William and Benjamin will handle the wine and business matters, and Carol is in charge of the decor. But all does not go smoothly, as a Mafia family related to the former owners throws one roadblock after another onto their path. Sally, their ex-actress friend, has decided not to join their ambitious venture, and she suddenly finds herself inexplicably wooed by a mysterious Russian. A few too many side plots inject themselves into Imrie's already complicated narrative, from the unexpected arrival of friends from Sally's bygone acting days amid the hoopla of the Cannes Film Festival to the battles of Theresa's daughter with her philandering ex-husband and two of his lovers. But all in all, Imrie's movie-like farce is an enjoyable, lighthearted read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)