Being Committed

Starred review from July 26, 2004
Sometimes it isn't snaring a man that's the problem but keeping him. In this deliciously snarky fourth novel, bestselling Maxted (Getting Over It
; Running in Heels
; etc.) introduces readers to Hannah Lovekin, a 30-year-old London private investigator with commitment issues and a breezy lack of sensitivity and feminine graces. At the start of the novel, Jason, Hannah's adorable boyfriend of five years—he's "enthusiastic, without cynicism, like a new puppy," the polar opposite of Hannah—pops the question and Hannah turns him down, only to realize that she wants him after all. Jason agrees to give Hannah another chance if she promises to resolve her intimacy issues, visit a therapist and make amends with Jack, her ex-husband, who's now a successful theater agent. Reluctantly embarking on the path to enlightenment ("I've been married before. When I was twenty. For five months. I'm a raddled old divorcee consumed with bitterness and regret. Is that relevant?"), Hannah is forced to realize why her marriage with Jack crumbled, as well as face the family secrets she shelved away as a little girl. Maxted tosses barbs like a champion darts player, and she paints a scathingly hilarious picture of her misguided but appealingly frank heroine. Witty, sarcastic, self-deprecating and clever, this is platinum-class chick lit. Agent, Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider .
(Aug.)

Forecast:
Maxted doesn't need an early summer release date to get books moving—expect this to hit bestseller lists as well as beach towels.