Mhairi McFarlane (If I Never Met You; Don't You Forget About Me) has a gift for writing nuanced romances with grieving or complicated heroines. Often her characters are women in their mid-30s coming out of unfulfilling long-term relationships or emotional affairs, and Just Last Night is true to form.
Eve, Susie, Justin and Ed have been friends since their schooldays in northern England. For more than 15 years, their foursome has met for Thursday night trivia each week. Eve has been secretly in love with Ed all this time, but he's had a long-term, annoying girlfriend, so she's never acted upon her feelings. They've stayed in their enjoyable, mundane routine for all these years, until one Thursday night when Ed gets engaged to his horrible girlfriend, Eve goes home with a handsome bartender, and a sudden tragedy strikes, leaving their foursome permanently fractured.
Heartfelt and introspective, Just Last Night explores the nature of grief and unexpected loss, but with a deft touch that never approaches the maudlin. Eve, the main protagonist, ends up learning things about Ed and Susie and Justin that she never knew, despite their many years of friendship, and realizes also that she herself is a much more capable person than she ever suspected. Perfect for fans of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird or The Happy Ever After Playlist, Just Last Night is a truly lovely, and achingly funny, depiction of friendship and the hope that new beginnings bring. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.