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rosseroo's review
4.0
I quite enjoyed Richards' first book, Throwing The House Out of the Window, and found Don't Step On the Lines a bit of a disappointment (haven't read his third novel, The Silver River), so I didn't know what to expect from this one. Like his other books, it features a complex and sympathetic hero(ine), and concerns itself with the messy nature of everyday relationships, love, friendships, and jobs. Mel is a trade union worker who becomes immersed in a high-profile case involving a man who died when given the wrong blood. She ends up meeting the widow and finding herself attracted to her, but unsure in what way. Meanwhile, her longtime boyfriend mopes around the house under the debilitating effects of hepatitis C treatment and their love life stagnates. As in his other books, Richards' supporting characters are all well-rendered and interesting characters, from Mel's two friends, two coworkers, a jovial journalist, Mel's boyfriend and his friend. That's good, because the background plot involving her job and the people who are trying to influence her current case tends to wear thin and bog things down. Overall, the book succeeds as the story of one woman's struggle to come to terms with what she has become over the years and where she's at. Good reading for people in their late 30s dealing with midlife crises.
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