3 Review(s)

Following the enormous success of The Flight of Lucy Spoon, Maggie Gibson has written Alice Little and the Big Girl's Blouse, a rip-roaring comedy bordering on crime story set in Dublin. 26-year-old Alice Little finds herself homeless and out of a job. Her best friend, Conor - a chef and eponymous Big Girl's Blouse - suggests she comes and works in his cafe, the Samovar, which has free accommodation above it. He runs it with his boyfriend, a large, hirsute Ukrainian called Hector, whom Immigration are pursuing. Conor and Hector offer Alice a deal: if she marries Hector, she gets a cut in the cafe. She agrees and turns it into a roaring success that inevitably attracts the attention of the local mafia. A wicked stepmother, a villainous Godfather figure, a dominatrix and the winner of the Irish County Wife of the Year Award are only some of the characters that make Alice Little a fast, funny and delightful read. Originally from the Poolbeg stable, Maggie Gibson will appeal to fans of Marian Keyes and Louise Bagshawe, at the same time being just a little bit nastier and dangerous.