BOOK REVIEW: The Adults by Caroline Hulse

Meet the Adults.
Claire and Matt are divorced but want their daughter Scarlett to have a 'normal; family Christmas with them all together.
Claire brings her seemingly eligible new partner Patrick.
Matt brings his extremely patient girlfriend Alex.
Scarlett brings her imaginary friend Posey.
He's a rabbit.
Together the five (or six?) of them grit their teeth through Organised 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 call to the police...
But what happened? They said they'd all be adults about this...

Publisher: Orion

Pages: 403

The Adults could be classified as a festive read as it is set over the Christmas period but I read it in January and still enjoyed it so don't be put off now that you've taken down your tree and eaten the last mince pie.
The Adults follows Claire and Patrick and Matt and Alex as they embark on a rather tense festive trip away. Claire and Matt are divorced but they want to give their daughter Scarlett the treat of them all spending Christmas together plus Scarlett's imaginary friend Posey who is a rabbit.
So they all set off to The Happy Forest determined to have a good time or at least not to kill each other. However, the book opens with the transcription of a 999 call requesting an ambulance to the holiday park as a guest has been shot with an archery arrow so maybe things haven't quite gone to plan.
The Adults is a highly entertaining read, it is full of awkward situations and underlying tensions constantly threatening to spill over.
I loved the idea of The Happy Forest setting, it is very much
an exaggerated version of Centre Parcs and I'm sure many readers will identify with the humour in this.
Caroline Hulse sets a good pace from the very start and it was interesting to get different character's perspectives on events taking place. There is a lot of humour within the story and many experiences that are easy to relate to and empathise with. The Adults is an easy-going and entertaining read, it was a great start to my 2019 reading.

Many thanks to Orion for sending me a copy of The Adults to review.