A review by happy_hiker
Family Baggage by Monica McInerney

3.0

This book ended up in my purse to be read during breaks. It took a long time for me to get into it. However, once I did, it went pretty quickly and was fairly entertaining. Mom, Dad, James, Austin, Harriet: family-run travel agency in Australia. When Harriet was eight, Lara, whose parents died, was brought into the family. The story is set in the kids adulthood (Harriet is 32), starting with Lara not showing up in England for a tour she and Harriet were supposed to oversee. Harriet, just recovering from a nervous breakdown does an admirable job of running the tour and meets a man to boot. Intermingled with this are flashbacks to the time when Lara was brought into the family and concern over Lara’s whereabouts. The family bands together, find her, and uncover some unexpected information about her past. There is also a sister-in-law from hell who seems to be trying to take over the family travel business after the death of the parents – perhaps the worst being that she institutes a bright yellow uniform for tour guides.