Andy, Sonja and Gerri are neighbours, close friends and observers of each other's relationships. With over twenty years of stable marriage to her credit, Gerri has seen divorces come and go. Now it's Andy's turn to dump her second husband, a ten-years-younger philanderer. FOUR FRIENDS continues as Kelly, an office assistant going through her own troubles, unwittingly spills the beans about Gerri's husband's past affair, long since ended. That's what Gerri gets for trying to help....

I'd read Robin Carr's books set in Thunder Point and Virgin River but this is a new standalone setting, which is a great idea for new readers who don't want to jump in way down the line of a series. Sonja is unflaggingly positive and helpful with offers of chamomile tea, carob and chakras, when all Andy wants to do is fling her husband's stuff on the lawn. Sonja's husband seems to be tiring of wheatgrass, candles and spa music too. Well, he is a man. Gerri, confronting her husband Phil, gets the confirmation she really didn't want and feels too betrayed to be rational. The whole neighbourhood seems to be hitting the skids, one lady remarks.

Phil is actually a level-headed man, accepting the blame instantly and hoping he can be forgiven - the past is the past. Their kids and his wife are his priority - but the two-income couple are still as crushingly busy as ever, which caused the initial problem. Another decent guy is Bob, fitting kitchen cabinets over a series of evenings in Andy's home. His wife left and he misses having someone to talk with so Andy and he chat about life. Another lady, BJ, has avoided getting too familiar with the three friends. Now, seeing that they don't have perfect lives after all, she begins to reach out and offer help. Eventually she's the fourth friend.

If you want to read about motherhood putting stress on marriages; hot flashes and rediscovering libido at fifty; getting a breakdown after a husband leaves; Robin Carr paints a wry story of why marriage at this age may not be all we expected and yet could repay our efforts. This is an adult romance story of mature relationships and of teenagers going their own ways almost unnoticed. By the end we can see new beginnings and we realise that these FOUR FRIENDS are ordinary women coming to terms with issues which to them are extraordinary. This is a fine read.