Page 16 - IFV November Issue 2025

Book Reviews

Great Big Beautiful Life The Advocate The Impossible Fortune
BY EMILY HENRY BY JACKIE PHAMOTSE BY RICHARD OSMAN

hen Margaret Ives, the ow far can you distance yourself ho’s got time to think about
famously reclusive heiress, from your enemy without losing murder when there’s a
Winvites eternal optimist Alice Hsight of the threat they pose – Wwedding to plan?
Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, or without becoming an enemy yourself? It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday
Alice knows this is it: her big break. And In the shadow of a flawless facade, the Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans
even more rare: a chance to impress her Coal family’s dynasty teeters on the brink and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving.
family with a Serious Publication. of collapse. Luna Parks’ marriage balances Ron is dealing with family troubles, and
The catch? Pulitzer-prizewinning on a powder keg of secrets and lies, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his
human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, results in the presence of an unwelcome favourite criminal.
is sure of the same thing. guest on the Coal farm, which is the spark But when Elizabeth meets a wedding
The proposal? A one-month trial period that sets it ablaze. guest who fears for their life, the thrill of
to unearth the truth behind one of the With the Fletchers’ sinister grip the chase is ignited once again. A villain
most scandalous families of the 20th tightening on the town of Clanwilliam, wants access to an uncrackable code and
Century, after which she’ll choose who’ll the advocate emerges as the last line of will stop at nothing to get it. Plunged back
tell her story. defence against the forces of destruction, into their most explosive investigation
The problem? Margaret is only giving and Cameron Coal is forced to confront yet, can the gang solve the puzzle and a
each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces an impossible choice: will love be the murder in time?
they can’t put together because of salvation or the downfall of the rooibos
an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient farm, a legacy forged in blood and sweat? Price: R395.00
yearning pulsing between them every And will Luna’s devotion be enough to
time they’re in the same room. bring the family together? With every
And it’s becoming abundantly clear that twist and turn, the stakes get higher, and
their story – just like the tale Margaret’s the truth threatens to rip everyone apart.
spinning – could be a mystery, tragedy, or Against the backdrop of South Africa’s
love ballad … depending on who’s telling tumultuous rural landscape, this gripping
it. tale exposes the intricate dance between
power, corruption and the human
Price: R395.00 condition. Can the advocate untangle
the web of deceit, or will the pursuit of
justice and truth be sacrificed at the altar
of money and influence?

Price: R330.00

14 • November 2025 • The Villager