Having previously read Old School Ties and The Starter Marriage by the same author, and having loved both of them, I was looking forward to reading Brown Owl's Guide to Life with anticipation.

However this book fails to live up to the standard of its predecessors.

The story is trite, and the characters are flat and two-dimensional. The story is focussed on Judith Collins and her life as a Brown Owl for the local troop of Brownies. Following her death she tries to reunite the "Pixies", the group her daughter Lucy had been part of in the Brownies. Reuniting the girls 30 years on from their initial gatherings, and following a "tragedy" that befell the group in their last year as Brownies, we pick up on the lives of the Pixies - Bethany, Terri, Paula and Chris as they get together with Lucy and solve their life crises.

The story is contrived and is staged to fit in with a check-list of elements Harrison has felt compelled to include. Marriage breakdown ... check! Re-discovery of oneself ... check! Skeletons in the closet ... check! Life affirming, sugary sweet, "wrap up all the ends nicely" ending ... check!

Overall this book reads like Harrison came up with the bare bones of an idea, failed to flesh it out, and submitted it for publication under pressure of a deadline.

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