One Night Only by Sue Welfare

Funny, sharp and deeply poignant, One Night Only explore the pitfalls of fame, friendship and family secrets and gets under the skin of why looking back is not an easy thing to do! Fame and fortune can't hide the secrets of her past! When fading soap star, Helen Redford, goes back to her old home town to make a TV show about her glittering career she catches a glimpse of the might-have-beens that drove her to leave in the first place. Ex boy friends, old scores to settle, friendships gone sour, chances not taken,and secrets about Helen's family that have haunted her since she was a little girl. Will Helen be able to put her past to rest?

I really enjoyed Sue Welfare's last book, The Surprise Party, and so I was pleased to receive her latest release and devoured it quickly.

One Night Only is about Helen Redford who is returning to her hometown to perform for one night only as part of a television program, Roots, which is looking into her life story. Helen is hoping they will will find her mother, who left while she was young, and Helen has never known why. However, when the film crew and Helen meet and the filming begins, the story takes them down another road, one Helen is unaware of, and a lot of old secrets are discovered.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great read, one which you could loose yourself in. It reminds me of Who Do You Think You Are? and I really felt that I was on the journey with Helen throughout. There are moments of laughter but also moments where emotions are all over the place. There is a twist in the story and I did not see it coming, however it was cleverly intertwined in the story and made for a very interesting story. 


The book is meant to be a trip down memory lane for Helen but it ends up being a lot more than that. Sue Welfare very cleverly flicks between the past and present throughout the book and this allows us, the readers, to learn more about Helen. It certainly proves that although celebrity life may appear to be glitz and glam however it is often not the case.


I would recommend this book to all of my followers, a great read which although it sounds like an usual chick lit book is much more than that!


Thank you to the publishers, Avon, for sending me the book to review.