The Double Life Of Anna Day

by Louise Candlish

Anna has waited a long time to fall in love and now that she has, she's not going to let her boyfriend Charlie's mother stand in her way. Meredith Granger is frighteningly well-cultured and impossible to impress. So far, Anna hasn't even been allowed to meet her. But when Charlie leaves the country on business for the summer, Anna decides to take matters into her own hands. Reinventing herself from "one of the boys" in an office full of foulmouthed sales reps into the perfect, butter-wouldn't-melt daughter-in-law, Anna embraces a whole new life. Garden parties, Sunday tennis, little vintage dresses from Laura Ashley—it seems almost too easy. It's only when she tails Meredith on an Art Explorers' trip to Andalucia that she wonders if things might be rather more difficult, and if she might be a little out of her depth after all.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Chick Lit, Contemporary

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2006

About the author

Hello and welcome! You may already know my bestselling domestic noir thrillers or perhaps you're curious and not sure which to try first - either way, you're in the right place...

My latest release is A KNOCK AT THE DOOR, the tale of a missing girl who returns to her parents almost two decades after she vanished. But is it really her? Out in the UK on 5 November 2026, it publishes in the US and Canada in 2027.

Previous thrillers include A NEIGHBOUR'S GUIDE TO MURDER, about an age-gap friendship between neighbours that escalates to scandal and murder; OUR HOLIDAY, in which holiday home owners face a reckoning in their beach paradise; and OUR HOUSE, the story of a woman who finds her house has been sold to strangers without her knowledge. Now a major four-part drama starring Martin Compston and Tuppence Middleton (watch the full series on ITVX in the UK and PBS/Amazon Prime in the US), OUR HOUSE was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and won a British Book Award for Crime & Thriller.

TV adaptations form a big part of my working life these days. Filming has just wrapped on the ITV adaptation of THE ONLY SUSPECT, with Kevin McKidd starring as Alex, a middle-aged man with a dark secret to hide, and on the Channel 5/Fox adaptation of THE HEIGHTS, starring Anna Friel as Ellen, a mother whose feud with her son's best friend turns deadly. Dates and details coming very soon!

A bit about me: I live in South London with my husband, daughter and a fox-red Labrador called Bertie who is the apple of my eye. Books, TV and long walks are my passions - and drinking wine in the sun with family and friends. Authors I love include Tom Wolfe, Patricia Highsmith, Barbara Vine, Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh. My favourite book is Madame Bovary.

Be the first to hear about new releases and price drops by clicking on the +Follow button at the top

You can also find me at:

www.louisecandlish dot com

X/Twitter: louise_candlish

Instagram: louisecandlish

FB: LouiseCandlishAuthor

BookBub: LouiseCandlishAuthor

#AKnockAtTheDoor #ANeighboursGuideToMurder #OurHoliday #TheOnlySuspect #TheHeights #OurHouse

Reviews

[Chrystal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well there a good 6 hours of my life I'll never get back.
I nearly put this book down after realizing a few chapters in Anna was to go behind Charlies back and try impress his mother prior to meeting her.
Charlie was an obvious twat right from the get go. No happily ever after for Anna although the possibility of a new friendship with his mother was there.
Shouldve stuck with me gut feeling as this book dragged on and on and led no where.

[Lisa Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm too old for this kind of froth

I read this year's ago and because I'm in a bit of a reading slump and this was free on kindle unlimited I thought I'd revisit it. It was a mistake. This is chicklit froth and if you're emotionally stilted and want to read about how a girl tries to get a boy to introduce her to his mother... then go for it. Tedious , irritating twaddle. I ditched it after 40 pages.

[Sonia Gomes]

I started this one as a fun read, but just could not get through, it was slow, really slow. I did try as I thought there would be humor, if there was I just could not get it !

[Paula Nichols · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book stolen from the holiday cottage! But in my defence I did leave 4 in its place!

This story of Anna and her frustration with boyfriend Charlie's aversion to introducing her to his mother is an interesting premise and one many women will have experienced. It started quite well, with the plan to infiltrate the Dulwich circle to win over said mother, and the end wasn't unexpected in the slightest! I do confess that whilst I was happy that Anna seemed to have found her true self on this journey, I did find her stereotypes annoying and rather insulting (and yes, I know I was supposed to!). Meredith is indeed a stereotypical snob, but her true character comes out in the end and I would like to think that Anna and her new friends continued to see each other, despite the outcomes. Charlie I found to be selfish and immature, and likewise her friend Caro.

It's a book that one can love and hate at the same time - whiney, insecure female stalks future mother in law, as opposed to insecure woman sets out to change her life...take your pick. It was an OK read but not one I would have shelled money out on.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this book 3 out of 5 stars, not because it lacked potential, but because it felt like it held its breath for too long. The pacing was such a slow burn that somewhere along the way, the spark I hoped to feel never quite caught fire.

I kept waiting for that emotional payoff, that moment of clarity or redemption, but when the ending finally arrived, it felt thin. It left me with a quiet ache, not the good kind, but the kind that comes from wanting more than the story was willing to give.

It wasn’t a bad read… just a hollow one, at least for me. It was a journey that promised depth but never fully took the plunge.

[Johanna Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I love Louise Candlish however I felt this book was too dragging. She concentrates too much on building the story and some chapters are full with irrelevant details, only to have the most important part of the book (Anna’s meeting again with Charlie) to be crammed in the last 2 chapters. Perhaps I am one to love happy endings however I feel that the story could have gone in another way or the ending given a bit more importance. It took me longer to finish this book than the average one which says a lot.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because I read this earlier one after The Other Passenger, which is a very entertaining and double plus twist must read type of book.

Louise Candlish's writing style appeals to me - it's easy, full of detail, well researched and funny.

Although the book is amusing and interesting throughout, the ending of the Double Life left me flat and quite cross. As though Candlish had run out of steam and interest, resulting in a disappointing, flat ending. Knowing men as I do, predictable. I expected better!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My library does not have many of Louise Candlish's books. So I am listening to some of her books on Hoopla. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't wait for the next chapter to be read to me with the English accents. The very end was a bit disappointing because I wanted the boyfriend to be a better person. Overall I really enjoyed it.

[Sue Fehlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave it 5 stars because I couldn’t wait for the end to see what happened and because I love Louise Candlish! This was one of her earlier books and boy has she improved since then! I thought I had read all of her books before I stumbled upon this one. It was ok, it dragged in the middle and the ending was kinda obvious. An ok read.

[Kaytee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well read in audiobook which made it sound better than it was. A very light read but all the characters are stereotypes and the story is rather silly. It kept me company on a long car journey when I didn’t want anything taxing.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this book was very very slow and drawn out, I’m not sure why I persevered as even though the second half was better, it was still a very ordinary read.

[Aaysha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under rated.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, took until the trip to Grenada to hold any interest, until I actually wanted to find out what happened. The ending was kinda flat though.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very believable, and the main characters annoyed me. Not one of Louise's best.

[Helen Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my cup of tea although the synopsis looked ok

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna Day is living a double life. Her boyfriend Charlie is away on business, and Anna wants to get to know his mother, Meredith. Charlie has refused to introduce them, insisting that Meredith is over-protective and would be too distraught if she knew that he had a long-term girlfriend.

So Anna determines to re-model herself as the kind of sweet girl that her potential mother-in-law would like, hanging around her village, following her interests, even going on holiday with her...

It took a while to get going, but I did like Anna's character, and the plot was an interesting idea. It's light women's fiction at its best, with great writing, wit, and thought-provoking themes about modern women and their lifestyles.

Definitely recommended.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Sandra Grauschopf · Rating 2 out of 5]

So your boyfriend won't introduce you to his mother. What do you do when persuasion and ultimatums won't work? Well, completely reinvent yourself to appeal to what you think this mother will like, then wiggle your way into her circle of friends while your boyfriend is away, and "surprise" him by being at her birthday party when he returns. Because nothing could go wrong with that plan, right? Right?

Ugh.

The premise was so far-fetched that the writing would have had to be awesome to pull it off. But it wasn't. There is no possible way that this could have ended well, and it wasn't at all surprising that it didn't. There was more depth to the protagonist's character than one often sees, but it wasn't enough to overcome the obvious stupidity of the plan central to the plot. Not recommended.

[Amina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose after reading house of spirits which is a very powerful book - the double life of anna day felt a bit shallow. It took me a little longer than normal to get into the story and empathise with the characters but when i eventually did it was brilliant and so powerfully true about men, commitment and the lenghts women will go to!! It's a good fun book with a painfully true ending.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Underwhelming & protracted.

I'm a great fan of Louise Candlish but really didn't enjoy this. It just felt too contrived and the characters weren't very likeable. There was a lot of detail about Anna's job which didn't seem particularly relevant. I stuck it out to the end, purely because it was Louise Candlish but I was rather relieved when it was all over.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled to get into this one. I just didn't get Charlie. I wanted to yell HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

[Adri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although there is never any doubt about how the story will end there are a fe little twists and turns which made this a fun read. Very good sense of humour.

[June Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skipped a lot of pages, as could not get into this book

[Shauna · Rating 2 out of 5]

All of that effort, for a rubbish outcome. 2/5

[Ash A leen]

Another one which i just havent been able to get stuck into..... The story appeals to me though.

[Kate Moffatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, it was okay. Very predictable.