In THE BEST OF FRIENDS, Joanna Trollope illustrates just what it is she does best: analyze with empathy, intelligence and humor, the complications of all human relationships. In this novel, the title refers to Gina Bedford and Laurence Wood, best friends since they were teenagers. Despite their unflagging friendship, Gina and Laurence have made their lives with other people. Gina is married to an antique dealer named Fergus who has ideas that don't include Gina. Together, they have a strong-willed daughter, Sophy, who escapes the fights at home by spending more time with her grandmother, Vi, an 80-year-old woman who has finally found true love. Laurence runs the kitchen of The Bee House while his wife, Hilary, manages the rest of the small hotel they have built up together from Laurence's inheritance. Gus, younger son of Laurence and Hilary, is best friends with Sophy, but she has her eye on his more dramatic older brother, George.

These two richly drawn families are also the best of friends, until life intervenes. When Fergus leaves Gina, he puts in motion a sequence of events with unforeseen consequences for all involved. Gina turns to Laurence and the spark that has defined their friendship explodes into a declaration of love. Both Gina and Laurence now face the choice of personal happiness or the emotional destruction of everyone around them. The joy of Joanna Trollope's writing is that her characters are full-bodied individuals who struggle with choices and who never fall into predictability. As with all of Trollope's books, THE BEST OF FRIENDS is a triumph of intelligence and heart over formula.

   --- Reviewed by Jami Edwards

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