The Adults
The hilarious and heartwarming read to curl up with this year!
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
'Genuinely unputdownable books are rare in my experience. This is one. A brilliant, original comedy' Daily Mail
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MEET THE ADULTS...
Claire and Matt are divorced but decide what's best for their daughter Scarlett is to have a 'normal' family Christmas with them all together.
Claire brings her new boyfriend Patrick, a seemingly eligible Iron-Man-in-Waiting.
Matt brings the new love of his life Alex, funny, smart, and extremely patient.
Scarlett, their daughter, brings her imaginary friend Posey. He's a rabbit.
Together the five (or six?) of them grit their teeth over Organized Fun activities, drinking a little too much after bed-time, oversharing classified secrets about their pasts and, before they know it, their holiday is a powder keg that ends - where this story starts - with a tearful, frightened, call to the police...
But what happened? They said they'd all be adults about this...
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'I loved The Adults! Funny, dry and beautifully observed. Highly recommended'
Gill Sims, #1 bestselling author of Why Mummy Drinks and Why Mummy Swears
'Such a breath of fresh air! Witty, intensely human and (dare I say it) relatable ... The perfect comedy of errors' Katie Khan
'The Adults is my top read of 2018 so far. Absolutely hilarious ... This one will stay with me for a long time' Cathy Bramley
'Packed with sharp wit, engaging characters and off-beat humour, this is a fresh and feisty thrill-ride of a novel' Heat
'I took this book on holiday and couldn't put it down! I've never read anything quite like it' The Unmumsy Mum
'Gripped me from the start. Reminiscent of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies - a sure-fire winner'
Cass Hunter, author of The After Wife
'Brilliantly funny - will have you wincing in recognition' Good Housekeeping
'I have a feeling Caroline Hulse might be a genius, this book is so brilliant. t's funny, clever and original - I loved every minute of reading it. Also, Posey should get a spin-off TV show' Lucy Vine, author of Hot Mess
'Funny, poignant, real - a truly original book that made me laugh, cry and cringe in equal measure. I loved it' Charlotte Duckworth
'Razor-sharp comedy - barbed and brilliant. The characters are totally convincing ... Sparky, heart-felt and fantastically fun, this is a fabulous debut' Sunday Mirror
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hulse's stellar debut follows an ill-fated trip to a Christmas-themed resort in North Yorkshire, which friendly divorced couple Matt Cutler and Claire Petersen take together for the sake of their seven-year-old, Scarlett. Tension ensues when they elect to bring along their reluctant significant others. Since Matt and Claire split two years ago, Scarlett has relied on her imaginary friend, a rabbit named Posey, to express her negative feelings. Scarlett and Posey are convinced that Matt's scientist girlfriend, Alex Mount, kills animals for fun, and their fear is compounded when they witness Alex put a wounded pheasant out of its misery. Scarlett gets along better with her competitive stepdad, Patrick Asher, though he's so tightly wound and concerned about what others think that Claire can't be herself around him. Patrick misses his own children, and is repulsed by Matt's relaxed, happy-go-lucky nature, baffled about what Claire ever saw in him. As the trip progresses, he and Alex are both thrown by how well the exes get along and start to feel jealous. From the outset, readers learn that someone is shot during an archery session, and the circumstances of the incident unfold gradually and naturally. Hulse does an excellent job building her characters, consistently increasing tension by placing them in close quarters and letting their different personalities clash. This debut is the whole package : realistic, flawed characters placed in an increasingly tense situation, resulting in a surprising, suspenseful novel.
