Three very different women face heartache, dislocation and despair in this up-to-date, romantic saga, which praises the power of friendship to pull you through.At 21, Dishy Devlin is seduced by the suave, sophisticated Colin Cantrell-King, an older married man and her boss. When she finds herself in an unfortunate condition for an unmarried, Irish Catholic girl, she faces some very hard choices. What will she decide?Overly-curvy Caroline is afraid of being left on the … mehrshelf so jumps at the chance to marry the cool, detached and very attractive Richard. But, why does he never return her ardour with equal passion? And why is his friend Charles Stokes so upset when he hears about their engagement? Married mother Maggie feels trapped in a loveless marriage until she discovers her husband's infidelity. Suddenly, she feels released but what will she do with her new-found sense of liberation? City Girl successfully threads together the interweaving tales of these three best friends who, whilst each making a journey of self-discovery, come to appreciate that the bond they share is what gives them their strength:"To the most important thing that anyone, rich or poor, can possess. And that we are richly blessed with ... To friendship" Patricia Scanlan's style and subject is more akin to a young Maeve Binchy than the plethora of young female novelists, such as Helen Fielding or Jane Green, who use their works of fiction to relate their own personal angst. Scanlan's narrative is rich in intrigue, deception and traditional romance. --Nicola Perry weniger