For 2024 the aim remains to post a review at least every other Friday and to complete the Bookpacking reading journey.

26 May 2023

Trust – Mike Bullen

Greg Beavis and Dan Sinclair are mates, and rivals, with both working as sales reps for the same IT company in London. They both have long term partners and families. Dan is married to Sarah with a teenage son, Russell; Greg is not married to Amanda, but their commitment is demonstrated in the form of two young daughters.

It all starts to go wrong when Greg and Dan attend a two day conference in Birmingham. The men get talking to two attractive young women, Liz and Lynda, and on the last night as drinks flow in the bar, things get flirty and beyond.

On their return to the family fold, things change. There is incriminating evidence in Greg’s bag. And Dan’s renewed sexual vigour, while welcomed by Sarah, is suspicious.

Events unfold; deception and misunderstandings multiply. The partners, destabilised by suspicion, become prey to temptation and proposition. Revenge is considered. Even adolescent Russell and long-gone Liz and Lynda, and their partners, become tangled in the webs of deceit. Trust is in scant supply.

The prose is sharp and witty, and the plot complexities are well handled and easy to follow. Bullen has a nice line in one-liners and penchant for the ironic use of idiomatic expressions. Unsurprisingly, given Bullen is the creator of the Cold Feet TV series, the book has the same knowing – ‘this is adult life’ – vibe.

A good entertaining read.

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