Recently separated, Nicola moves back in with her mother, starts as a teaching assistant at the local primary school, gets a puppy and joins a group of dog walkers. Her five year old daughter struggles adjusting to the new school, while Nicola struggles adjusting to having shared custody; the dog walkers investigate missing cats and then embark upon a mission to save the local park from being sold to developers; new friends are made along the way.

This was very low-angst and, once I realised the sort of story it was, kind of predictable. I can recognise the appeal of this brand of realism, but personally would have preferred more humour or more emotional complexity. I’d also have liked more about Nicola’s job, or the trials and joys of training a puppy -- were Nicola a colleague of mine, it’d be easy to find things in common, topics we could discuss.

But, as a fictional character, her story wasn’t quite what I was looking for. ( )