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Phyllida Abercrombie is livid at the encroachment on her cherished garden and is unrestrained in exclaiming her anger at Maggie Clark. The year is 2021, and parts of the world are still opening to a world removed from many of the restrictions placed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak from the previous year. Despite Canada beginning to ease its constraints, some are still on edge and are letting their inner demons run roughshod. While Phyllida keeps her nose up at less affluent people like Maggie and David Clark, her moral high ground is nonexistent, as she's having an affair with her fitness instructor. While many of her neighbors congregate at the local dog park to exercise their pets and chit-chat, Phyllida is more inclined to threaten any dog or person who affronts her. Despite the easing of the COVID situation, things are about to boil over in Woodview Terraces.
Suburban dysfunction, set against the backdrop of a global pandemic, provides the backdrop for this excellent, dramatic, and character-driven narrative. The commonality among the characters is their love and devotion to their pets, whether dogs, cats, or squirrels. The occasionally absurd overindulgence of pets provides some of the humor in this story. The psychological toll of the government-ordered lockdowns is examined and convincingly depicted, especially in the case of Maggie and David Clark. The story is as much about the flaws of human nature as it is about the relationships between people and their pets. Adultery, betrayal, and moral hypocrisy are a few of the themes capably explored in this occasionally tense tale. Each couple highlighted in the book wants their lives to return to normalcy, yet the previous year has redefined what normal means. This book has an ending that the reader won't see coming.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review