The Road to Cromer Pier

I love audiobooks, and this is a book that truly shines when read aloud! I wasn’t sure what sort of story The Road to Cromer Pier would be. Yeah, the blurb says it has lost love rekindled, and a theater to save, but just a chapter or two in, and you realize that the blurb didn’t scratch the surface, merely grazed it! OMG. This is definitely my Feel Good™ book for November! As an American, I have to provide some context. The Cromer Pier Theatre is a real place. It features a live variety show every year, with a mix of singers, dancers, acrobats, comedians and magicians. This is one of the few surviving examples of the long history of both music hall and vaudeville entertaining. In the modern age, live acts have transitioned to television (American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, ect.). The cast of characters in this book is huge, and I’m in awe of the narrator, Penny Scott-Andrew’s ability to give each one a distinctive voice! This ability made it incredibly easy to lose myself in the story and not worry about losing my place in the plot, which moves quickly. The cast is richly detailed, full-bodied in that each character is a person in their own right, even those who only show up for a chapter or two. There are multiple subplots to the main, all interwoven in such a way to be absolutely believable and vital to the main story. Main plot: Last season’s profits were down and rent is due on the Theatre’s lease. Janet Wells, owner of the Theatre is desperate to save the last of the seaside variety shows, but due to the recession, all the banks are refusing her. Lionel Primrose, who owns most of the businesses in town wants the Theatre building to become a tourist trap Bingo Hall. Subplot 1: Paul Walker has had a horrible day, having been fired from his job and finding his wife with another man. Now on the run from the police, he’s run away to Cromer Pier, a place full of childhood memories and his first love. Subplot 2: Lauren Evans is an ex-talent show star that had a diva attitude and a lack of practical skills. She comes to Cromer Pier running from her problems. I cannot give any more details without entirely ruining the entire book. I can say that The Road to Cromer Pier has made me feel as though I have visited Cromer a hundred times, and was watching all the drama unfold for myself! A wonderful read, I can’t wait to see what Martin Gore writes next! Note: This novel covers a few sensitive topics, and takes place during England’s 2008 Recession. TW/CW: adultery, pregnancy loss, drug and alcohol abuse, battery, bankruptcy

I had a feeling going into The Road to Cromer Pier that I would connect with the story, and I was not wrong. A theatre brat myself, I miss the days when I got to live and breathe musicals, and when life revolved around rehearsals and performances. That this novel also had a coastal setting only increased it’s worth. If it had come with a barista delivering lattes and chocolate croissants every three chapters, it could not have been more perfectly designed for my tastes. But preferences alone are not enough. The author must also demonstrate talent and craft, and Martin Gore has done both with this book. I’m new to his writing, and I’m not British, but I’ve read enough novels set in the UK that they never feel foreign to me. Rather, his storytelling was so immersive that I was completely engaged from the first page to the last. Obviously, my main focus was on Janet and her story, because she is the glue that keeps the narrative flowing, but every character was compelling and dimensional and each one felt like someone I might have encountered doing improv or summer stock or even as a resident ingenue at a theatre camp when I was in high school. As well, the Show itself felt like a character in its own right, and I loved that about Gore’s work. Having grown up on the periphery of several family businesses, including a neighborhood diner, I know how much they take on a life and power of their own, and he showed that so well. The Road to Cromer Pier is no fluffy summer read, but a family drama with equal parts heartbreak and hearty laughter and I highly recommend it. Goes well with Cracker Jacks, the old-style kind that still have a decent toy surprise, not because they have anything to do with the story, but because they fit the mood of it.

Times are tough and the Wells family is about to lose the Cromer Pier Theatre which has been in their family for several years. The owner, Janet, is at her wits end trying to figure out a way to keep it rather than having to hand it over to the evil Pemrose. The story was slow for me until I got about halfway through. Eventually, once I learned more about the characters and watched them grow, I finished the last half in one sitting. Lauren and Paul especially learned a lot about themselves, which is kind of interesting since they were the celebrities. Even the characters who seemed to have it all together, like Janet, really didn’t and I enjoyed watching them grow as well. The Road to Cromer Pier is a well-written feel good book with a good ending.

LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. i adore Cromer and bought the book based on that. I found the writer captured not only the appeal of Cromer, but also why people are so passionate about the end of the pier show. a great twist at the end too. could identify with the locations mentioned in the book as it was so expertly detailed. well done.

I don\’t normally read this type of book, I mainly read thrillers and action books. I bought this because I live in Cromer and the title intrigued me. Lockdown meant that I quickly exhausted the pile of thrillers I had amassed and so I picked this up to read. I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the book. It is a lovely story-line full of believable characters.

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