The Woman with All the Answers - Linda Green - ★★★.¾
AUTHOR: Linda Green
GENRE: Feel-good Fiction.
PUBLICATION DATE: February 26, 2025
RATING: 3.75 stars.
In a Nutshell: A contemporary women’s fiction about two women, one of whom has all the problems and the other has all the answers. Interesting premise, fast pace, not-so-likeable characters who grow on you as the book proceeds, heartwarming moments, some thought-provoking topics and themes. A nice option for those who like stories with modern-day problems.
Plot Preview:
Halifax, UK. Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks feels the pressure of the entire family going. Though a working district nurse, Michelle is also forced to assist her elderly parents and mother-in-law, her two kids (one of whom has anxiety issues and the other is falling prey to peer pressure), and even her husband Marc who, though working from home, doesn’t do anything productive around the house. The only one Michelle can rely on without fail is her trusted Alexa, who helps her with shopping lists and task reminders.
What Michelle doesn’t know is that “Alexa” is, in fact, sixty-five-year-old Pauline, a former voice-over artist who now works as the “posh voice” of Alexa in the Banks household. Seeing how Michelle is struggling to handle everything, Pauline decides to go rogue, reveal her identity to Michelle, and offer her what every woman needs – a listening ear and if possible, some practical advice.
The story comes to us from the first-person perspectives of Michelle and “Alexa”.
After the initial few chapters of this book, I thought it would end up a 3-star read (which isn't a bad rating for me - a 3-star book is a good one-time read.) The OTT situations that Michelle had to face alone annoyed me on her behalf and I wished that she would grow a spine and tell Marc to pull up his socks. But as the book progressed and Michelle and Marc improved, the story and the writing grew on me and my rating climbed upwards steadily.
Bookish Yays:
🌐 The title is apt for the book. Michelle is considered the woman with all the answers by her family, but we all know the real woman with all the answers – “Alexa”!
🌐 The concept of Alexa being an actual woman and going rogue? Wow! I have read a couple of books about an AI assistant going beyond their roles, but none of those has a real person behind the virtual identity. The idea was great; the implementation was even better. Pauline’s conversations with Michelle and her revelations about working as “Alexa” lead to some of the best scenes in the book.
🌐 Pauline as a character – excellent. I love the idea of having a sixty-something woman as a tech expert. It’s such a welcome portrayal!
🌐 There is a good age range of characters: right from Michelle’s teenaged son and daughter to her eighty-something father. The plot covers the distinct challenges faced by all the generations.
🌐 The indirect insight on how much Alexa (and Siri and others of their ilk) actually know about our personal lives. I’ve never been happier that I don’t use any of these virtual assistants!
🌐 Though much younger than Michelle, I found myself relating to several of her situations, whether personal (I too need to attend to multiple family members’ daily care alone) or psychological (the constant niggling doubt about “Am I doing right/enough?”) or physical (Oh, perimenopause! Thou art a bitch!) The conversation where her symptoms are totally downplayed by a male doctor also occurred with me, albeit for a different illness. As such, I found myself rooting strongly for Michelle, even though our personalities were quite different.
🌐 The realistic portrayal of Michelle’s marriage. Often, when a book shows a couple having a problem, only the tussles get attention. But in this book, the closeness between Michelle and Marc is also shown. There are also scenes showing them discussing family issues together, even after a fight. It’s so much more convincing this way than to see a wife support a husband who is always a jerk.
🌐 The plot shows not just the shortcomings of the main characters but also their positive attributes. As such, if and when a change in behaviour is needed, it doesn’t seem so abrupt. Except for Liv, none of the Banks are immediately likeable. But Michelle and Marc grow on us as the story proceeds.
🌐 There are some wonderful minor characters as well, who, though in limited roles, make their presence felt and contribute strongly to the plot. My favourite of these was Michelle’s dad, who reminded me so much of my dear dad. (Oh, and I must also mention Basil! 🐶 I wish there had been more of him.)
🌐 Despite the multiple characters and their myriad challenges, the writing is quite fast-paced.
🌐 The ending is perfect for this genre. Emotional and heartwarming and even funny.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
🛠️ As both Michelle and Pauline (as “Alexa”) have a first-person narration and they both speak about the same set of people and issues, the POVs get confusing at times. I think I would have liked Michelle’s perspective better in third person.
🛠️ Pauline’s narration is written in a dialect unknown to me. The missing “the” and the use of “I were’ instead of “I was” (in a non-subjunctive usage) got a bit distracting at times. Of course, this won't be an issue to those who know the dialect. (I wonder what dialect it is!)
🛠️ I love the focus on perimenopause and its symptoms and also appreciate the highlight on HRT as a helpful treatment. But I am not convinced about the decision of mentioning the actual HRT medicines’ names in the book. HRT treatment is, if I am not wrong, prescription-based, so it is safer to avoid specific brand names and instead, motivate women to visit their GPs to get the best-suited meds for their needs.
🛠️ The plot covers several modern-day issues such as scam calls, sexting, loneliness, job struggles for older employees, stress levels in kids, perimenopause, and more. Sometimes, this feels like an overload. The first half of the book had too much of a bombardment of issues that Michelle needs to tackle. It gets tiresome to see only a single character face everything alone. Thankfully, the second half balanced the problems with enough of positivity also.
Bookish Nays:
💾 This is more of a ME issue, but I just couldn’t bring myself to forgive Callum for what he did. As a mother of two young girls, I find such behaviour infuriating. (You can also blame my perimenopausal hormones for this hardheartedness.) I also found his using the F word in front of his parents annoying; he was never reprimanded for this.
💾 The dance session scene and the disparagement of the young trainer – methinks it went a bit too far, even accounting for menopausal rage.
All in all, this ended up an enjoyable read with only some minor issues. I loved seeing the interactions between Michelle and Pauline, enjoyed Pauline’s behind-the-scenes as Alexa, and relished seeing young Liv win back her spark.
Definitely recommended to those looking for an unusual uplit fiction having realistic contemporary issues and middle-aged women who know and show their true worth.
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and author Linda Green for a complimentary copy of 'The Woman with All the Answers' via NetGalley, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
The digital version of this book is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.
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Blurb:
The brilliantly observed, witty and heart-warming new book club read from Richard & Judy bestseller Linda Green. Your virtual assistant is about to become your midlife mentor…
Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her 16-year-old son is behaving secretively.
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
Wise, funny, relatable and inspiring, Alexa, We Have a Problem is perfect for fans of Clare Pooley, Mike Gayle and David Nicholls.
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Author Linda Green:
Linda Green is the million copy Sunday Times bestselling author of eleven novels including 'The Last Thing She Told Me'.
Connect with her on:
Website: https://www.lindagreenauthor.com/
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindagreenisms
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindagreenbooks/
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Check out this book:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220859113-the-woman-with-all-the-answersPurchase from: https://mybook.to/AllTheAnswers
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This has been a stop on the #TheWomanWithAllTheAnswers blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!
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