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Eh, this book was alright. I'm starting to wonder if Maeve Binchy is maybe just not for me. The story was okay but very slow paced and pretty much just a community study. It's about a restaurant named Quentins and the people who own it, the people who run it, people who met there, and a documentary that a young woman named Ella wants to make about it. The majority of the book is actually about Ella, but all those other people are involved. There's a domestic suspense element to this book that was interesting, but it was more of just a constant undercurrent. I liked Derry quite a bit and that story was good, but overall this book was just meh and not very memorable. If you're a fan of Maeve Binchy, I'd give this one a shot, but if you're not I don't think this one will win you over.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
This book mostly follows Ella. She was a perfect child who never gave her parents any trouble until she's an adult and becomes involved with a man named Don Richardson. He is some sort of married businessman and he convinces her parents (and many others) to invest in different things, but he was actually swindling their money. Ella has his incriminating computer and other things so she's being followed, but then news breaks that he committed suicide. She's devastated because he left her a note that said he truly loved her and he left money in a safe to repay her parents. She debates what to do (turn in the computer, take the money, etc.). Meanwhile, we get the story of the restaurant Quentins. It's a fancy restaurant that has always been a special treat for Ella and her parents. The guy who owns it, Quentin, is a silent partner and its run by Brenda and Patrick Brennan. Quentin's never around but his dad comes frequently. He's not the nicest guy. Anyway, Ella decides she wants to do a documentary about the restaurant with her friends so she goes to America to meet a funder named Derry. He agrees to hear the pitch because he hates Ireland and thinks the documentary will expose negative aspects of Ireland, but then he realizes thats not the case but he's still very intrigued. His reasoning for hating Ireland is because thats where his drunken father is from. He's never been there and never wants to, but he and Ella start a relationship (friendly) and he decides to fund the film and go back with her. We hear a few random stories of people who have met or had significant moments at Quentins, but they're very random and don't really fit into the story. In the end, we find out Don is not actually dead and he comes back to try to get the stuff from Ella, but right after he calls her, she turns him in. She realizes he never actually loved her and thankfully she never cashed the money because that was a trap. In the very end, she and Derry say I love you.
We get a very little bit of Tom and Cathy Feather from the Scarlet Feather catering company, but to say this is a sequel involving them is NOT accurate at all. They're background characters at best. Ella's parents live on Tara Road and I don't know if any of the characters from that book are in this one or not, I'd have to refresh myself.