Balancing act by Joanna Trollope

Transworld Publishers, 2014. ISBN 9780857521088.
(Age: Senior Fiction). Susie Moran is a very successful business woman, at the helm of a pottery company, which produces charming and collectable ceramic pieces - potentially a very interesting backdrop considering the history of the Stoke-en-Trent potteries. She is determined not to have the traditional side of the family business altered but her daughters and their partners are concerned for the future of the company and want her to rethink this stance. The sudden arrival on the scene of her 'hippy' father who had abandoned her as a child adds to her overall distress.
The book treats the subject of family and work needs rather lightly, with very few character and narrative developments, and it is busy with unnecessary detail. Balancing Act is an easy read, but ultimately rather unsatisfying and unfinished.
The reader seems to drift through this middle class family's life for no apparent reason.
Julie Wells