Holly's Inbox, by Holly Denham

Don't let the length of this book intimidate you. At 668 pages, yes, it qualifies as a chunkster, but since it is written entirely in E-mails, it goes by quickly. Very quickly. And there are so many delicious plot lines, it's hard to put down.

Holly Denham has a new job as a receptionist at a large bank in London. She has a lot to deal with during her first week on the job: a co-worker who doesn't seem to care for her, a bitchy PA, and a colleague who went to school with her, who seems to know something devious in Holly's past--but she's not letting on. Yet.

And that's just at work. Holly also sends lots of E-mails out to her best friends, Jason and Aisha. Jason works at a hotel where Holly was once a receptionist. Aisha has a rawther complicated love life and constantly looks to Holly for advice.

Then there's Holly's family, who all have moved to Spain. Mum keeps meddling in Holly's affairs, much to Holly's chagrin. Charlie, her brother and the only family member remaining in England, is trying to start a nightclub--a different sort of nightclub. Elderly Granny has just discovered the wonders of the Internet, and has started to sign Holly up for various different websites.

Holly's life does get rawther interesting juggling all of these kooky correspondences throughout the day. But the most interesting tidbits are reserved for Holly herself--and we find out about them through random E-mails from people other than her friends. Let's just say that the phrase "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive" is an appropriate description for Holly's character. Eventually, her lies--and her past--catch up to her. The untruths build the novel up to an interesting climax and finale, where Holly promises that "she'll be back."

This was delightful reading for me. It was quick, cheeky, humorous, and just plain dishy. I loved it, especially as it progressed. I loved learning little details that one might dismiss as unimportant, but then they crop up again later in the novel, and one sees how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

Serena over at Savvy Verse and Wit had the author contribute a guest post. You can read that post by clicking here. Holly's Inbox has an interesting backstory; it actually started off as a website, which you can find by clicking here. And there's more to it, but I'll leave it to the author to explain what it is.

I won't tell you much about the ending, but it does leave room for a sequel. I hope it happens!

This is the latest entry in my 2009 100+ Reading Challenge, my 2009 Read Your Own Books Challenge, and my 2009 Chunkster Challenge. As always, click on the buttons in the right sidebar for archived lists of all of my reads!