Madeleine Wickham, Cocktails for Three

Cocktails for Three

Madeleine Wickham

Dunne, Mar 2006, $11.95

ISBN: 0312349998

The three women meet on the first day of each month at the Manhattan Bar to share gossip and to release steam. Roxanne Miller, Candice Brewin, and Maggie Phillips work in the same department, the editorial office of the Londoner magazine. Roxanne is a freelance travel writer; Candace is a writer too; and Maggie is the editor.

Each has personal demons to deal with. Roxanne has been having an affair for six years with "Mr. Married with Kids". Candice knows her late father was a con artist who destroyed the lives of pigeons. Maggie is about to give birth, and afterward leave her beloved London to rusticate.

Those personal demons turn more devilish. Roxanne's lover, the Londoner's publisher, dumps her abruptly without warning hiding from her that he is dying. Candice meets Heather Trelawney, whose family was destroyed by her father, so to atone she mentors the woman; not knowing that Heather wants to destroy her. Maggie finds motherhood in the countryside tedious and boring, as she needs her once a month cleansing with her two buddies. However, each faces their personal hell alone.

COCKTAILS FOR THREE is a fascinating look at three career women who use their monthly cocktail session to release some of the frustrations of work and in their personal lives. The storyline is amusing when it remains lighthearted in a chick lit style, as the audience learns what truly bothers each of the key protagonists, mostly from their jam sessions. In the latter half, the tale twists into serious suspense, which feels disjointed, as the fun resides in the misconceptions and misunderstandings between the trio, in spite of being best buddies sharing secrets. Still, overall this is a wonderful jocular sisterhood tale.