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The Woman with All the Answers
Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her sixteen-year-old son is behaving secretively.
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2025
3348 people are currently reading
1072 people want to read
About the author
Linda Green
80 books628 followersI was born in North London in 1970 and brought up in Hertfordshire. I wrote my first novella, the Time Machine, aged eight, shortly after which I declared that my ambition was to have a novel published (I could have been easy on myself and just said ‘to write a novel’ but no, I had to consign myself to years of torture and rejections). I was frequently asked to copy out my stories for the classroom wall (probably because my handwriting was so awful no one could read my first draft), and received lots of encouragement from my teachers Mr Roberts, Mrs Chandler (who added yet more pressure by writing in my autograph book when I left primary school that she looked forward to reading my first published novel!) and Mr Bird.
My first publication came when I was thirteen and my Ode to Gary Mabbutt won second prize in the Tottenham Weekly Herald ‘My Favourite Player’ competition. At fifteen I won the Junior Spurs Football Reporter of the Year Competition and got to report on a first division football match from the press box at White Hart Lane (I got lots of funny looks and none of the journalists spoke to me.)
At sixteen I embarked on ‘A’ levels and a journalism course at De Havilland College, Hertfordshire, and my college magazine interview about football hooliganism with local MP and football club chairman David Evans made a double page spread in Shoot! magazine (they never paid me) and back page headlines in several national newspapers (only a nice man at the Daily Star bothered to check the story with me).
I joined my local newspaper, the Enfield Gazette, as a trainee reporter at eighteen. During a ten year career in regional journalism I worked as a reporter on the Birmingham Daily News, news editor on the Birmingham Metro News and Chief Feature Writer on the Coventry Evening Telegraph, winning Highly Commended in the Feature Writer of the Year category of the 1997 Press Gazette Regional Press Awards.
I loved working on regional newspapers but by 1998 my features were getting too long and the urge to write a novel had become too great so I left my staff job to write my first novel and work as a freelance journalist. I have written for The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Times Educational Supplement, The Big Issue, Wanderlust and Community Care Magazine. I’ve also had a short story published in Best magazine
I found the writing and working from home a very solitary process so also worked as co-ordinator of the Birmingham Bureau of Children’s Express, a national charity which runs a learning through journalism programme for young people and taught journalism to schoolchildren for the National Academy of Writing. After I moved north in 2001 I qualified as an adult education tutor and taught creative writing classes to students aged between 18 and 82 for the Workers Educational Association across Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
After more than a hundred rejections from agents for my first novel (and more rewrites than I care to remember) I finally got an agent but still couldn’t get a publisher. I started work on my second novel I DID A BAD THING in 2003, finished the first draft and gave birth to my son Rohan in 2004, rewrote the novel and got a new agent in 2005, obtained a two-book deal with Headline Review in 2006.
I Did a Bad Thing was published in paperback in October 2007, made the top thirty official fiction bestsellers list (and number 3 in Tesco!) and has so far sold more than 77,000 copies. 10 Reasons Not to Fall in Love was published in paperback in March 2009, reached no 22 in the official fiction bestseller charts (and no 4 in Tesco) and has so far sold more than 80,000 copies. Both novels were also long-listed for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award.
Following the success of my first two novels I got another two-book deal from Headline Review, with Things I Wish I'd Known being the first of these. I am currently working on my fourth novel.
I enjoy travelling.
My first publication came when I was thirteen and my Ode to Gary Mabbutt won second prize in the Tottenham Weekly Herald ‘My Favourite Player’ competition. At fifteen I won the Junior Spurs Football Reporter of the Year Competition and got to report on a first division football match from the press box at White Hart Lane (I got lots of funny looks and none of the journalists spoke to me.)
At sixteen I embarked on ‘A’ levels and a journalism course at De Havilland College, Hertfordshire, and my college magazine interview about football hooliganism with local MP and football club chairman David Evans made a double page spread in Shoot! magazine (they never paid me) and back page headlines in several national newspapers (only a nice man at the Daily Star bothered to check the story with me).
I joined my local newspaper, the Enfield Gazette, as a trainee reporter at eighteen. During a ten year career in regional journalism I worked as a reporter on the Birmingham Daily News, news editor on the Birmingham Metro News and Chief Feature Writer on the Coventry Evening Telegraph, winning Highly Commended in the Feature Writer of the Year category of the 1997 Press Gazette Regional Press Awards.
I loved working on regional newspapers but by 1998 my features were getting too long and the urge to write a novel had become too great so I left my staff job to write my first novel and work as a freelance journalist. I have written for The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Times Educational Supplement, The Big Issue, Wanderlust and Community Care Magazine. I’ve also had a short story published in Best magazine
I found the writing and working from home a very solitary process so also worked as co-ordinator of the Birmingham Bureau of Children’s Express, a national charity which runs a learning through journalism programme for young people and taught journalism to schoolchildren for the National Academy of Writing. After I moved north in 2001 I qualified as an adult education tutor and taught creative writing classes to students aged between 18 and 82 for the Workers Educational Association across Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
After more than a hundred rejections from agents for my first novel (and more rewrites than I care to remember) I finally got an agent but still couldn’t get a publisher. I started work on my second novel I DID A BAD THING in 2003, finished the first draft and gave birth to my son Rohan in 2004, rewrote the novel and got a new agent in 2005, obtained a two-book deal with Headline Review in 2006.
I Did a Bad Thing was published in paperback in October 2007, made the top thirty official fiction bestsellers list (and number 3 in Tesco!) and has so far sold more than 77,000 copies. 10 Reasons Not to Fall in Love was published in paperback in March 2009, reached no 22 in the official fiction bestseller charts (and no 4 in Tesco) and has so far sold more than 80,000 copies. Both novels were also long-listed for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award.
Following the success of my first two novels I got another two-book deal from Headline Review, with Things I Wish I'd Known being the first of these. I am currently working on my fourth novel.
I enjoy travelling.
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February 21, 2025
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The Book Review Crew Blog
3.5 Stars
This was my first read by Linda Green and it won't be my last because I actually have In Little Stars on my to-be-read pile. This was such a unique premise, Amazon Alexa is a real person behind the speaker and has undergone rigorous training. The one in this story is named Pauline and she's getting ready to retire so she finally reveals herself.
The book has two points of view from both Alexa/Pauline and Michelle who is the owner of the speaker. I didn't like Michelle at first she is of the sandwich generation and lets her family walk all over her. Her children are teenagers and her husband works from home, whereas she is a personal carer and works outside the home. Instead of insisting her family help her more she just complains about it a lot. She is helping her dad and her mother-in-law. On the plus side, the characters were very real and true to life. I loved Alexa/Pauline she's the granny everyone wishes they had. She was funny, self-deprecating, full of love and had a caring attitude. I like books where you come to care about the characters.
There are a few side stories that I felt got lost along the way and that's where the book lost me, I wish they were more in-depth as they were important issues. This was a very quick read and you won't miss the Mary Poppins vibe and the Banks family name. I didn't like the jokes about the serious mistake the son made that just gave me an icky feeling all around.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
The Book Review Crew Blog
3.5 Stars
This was my first read by Linda Green and it won't be my last because I actually have In Little Stars on my to-be-read pile. This was such a unique premise, Amazon Alexa is a real person behind the speaker and has undergone rigorous training. The one in this story is named Pauline and she's getting ready to retire so she finally reveals herself.
The book has two points of view from both Alexa/Pauline and Michelle who is the owner of the speaker. I didn't like Michelle at first she is of the sandwich generation and lets her family walk all over her. Her children are teenagers and her husband works from home, whereas she is a personal carer and works outside the home. Instead of insisting her family help her more she just complains about it a lot. She is helping her dad and her mother-in-law. On the plus side, the characters were very real and true to life. I loved Alexa/Pauline she's the granny everyone wishes they had. She was funny, self-deprecating, full of love and had a caring attitude. I like books where you come to care about the characters.
There are a few side stories that I felt got lost along the way and that's where the book lost me, I wish they were more in-depth as they were important issues. This was a very quick read and you won't miss the Mary Poppins vibe and the Banks family name. I didn't like the jokes about the serious mistake the son made that just gave me an icky feeling all around.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
March 1, 2025
In a Nutshell: A contemporary women’s fiction about two women, one of whom has all the problems and the other has all the answers. Interesting premise, fast pace, not-so-likeable characters who grow on you as the book proceeds, heartwarming moments, some thought-provoking topics and themes. A nice option for those who like stories with modern-day problems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot Preview:
After the initial few chapters of this book, I thought it would end up a 3-star read (which isn't a bad rating for me - a 3-star book is a good one-time read.) The OTT situations that Michelle had to face alone annoyed me on her behalf and I wished that she would grow a spine and tell Marc to pull up his socks. But as the book progressed and Michelle and Marc improved, the story and the writing grew on me and my rating climbed upwards steadily.
Bookish Yays:
🌐 The title is apt for the book. Michelle is considered the woman with all the answers by her family, but we all know the real woman with all the answers – “Alexa”!
🌐 The concept of Alexa being an actual woman and going rogue? Wow! I have read a couple of books about an AI assistant going beyond their roles, but none of those has a real person behind the virtual identity. The idea was great; the implementation was even better. Pauline’s conversations with Michelle and her revelations about working as “Alexa” lead to some of the best scenes in the book.
🌐 Pauline as a character – excellent. I love the idea of having a sixty-something woman as a tech expert. It’s such a welcome portrayal!
🌐 There is a good age range of characters: right from Michelle’s teenaged son and daughter to her eighty-something father. The plot covers the distinct challenges faced by all the generations.
🌐 The indirect insight on how much Alexa (and Siri and others of their ilk) actually know about our personal lives. I’ve never been happier that I don’t use any of these virtual assistants!
🌐 Though much younger than Michelle, I found myself relating to several of her situations, whether personal (I too need to attend to multiple family members’ daily care alone) or psychological (the constant niggling doubt about “Am I doing right/enough?”) or physical (Oh, perimenopause! Thou art a bitch!) The conversation where her symptoms are totally downplayed by a male doctor also occurred with me, albeit for a different illness. As such, I found myself rooting strongly for Michelle, even though our personalities were quite different.
🌐 The realistic portrayal of Michelle’s marriage. Often, when a book shows a couple having a problem, only the tussles get attention. But in this book, the closeness between Michelle and Marc is also shown. There are also scenes showing them discussing family issues together, even after a fight. It’s so much more convincing this way than to see a wife support a husband who is always a jerk.
🌐 The plot shows not just the shortcomings of the main characters but also their positive attributes. As such, if and when a change in behaviour is needed, it doesn’t seem so abrupt. Except for Liv, none of the Banks are immediately likeable. But Michelle and Marc grow on us as the story proceeds.
🌐 There are some wonderful minor characters as well, who, though in limited roles, make their presence felt and contribute strongly to the plot. My favourite of these was Michelle’s dad, who reminded me so much of my dear dad. (Oh, and I must also mention Basil!🐶 I wish there had been more of him.)
🌐 Despite the multiple characters and their myriad challenges, the writing is quite fast-paced.
🌐 The ending is perfect for this genre. Emotional and heartwarming and even funny.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
🛠️ As both Michelle and Pauline (as “Alexa”) have a first-person narration and they both speak about the same set of people and issues, the POVs get confusing at times. I think I would have liked Michelle’s perspective better in third person.
🛠️ Pauline’s narration is written in a dialect unknown to me. The missing “the” and the use of “I were’ instead of “I was” (in a non-subjunctive usage) got a bit distracting at times. Of course, this won't be an issue to those who know the dialect. (I wonder what dialect it is!)
🛠️ I love the focus on perimenopause and its symptoms and also appreciate the highlight on HRT as a helpful treatment. But I am not convinced about the decision of mentioning the actual HRT medicines’ names in the book. HRT treatment is, if I am not wrong, prescription-based, so it is safer to avoid specific brand names and instead, motivate women to visit their GPs to get the best-suited meds for their needs.
🛠️ The plot covers several modern-day issues such as scam calls, sexting, loneliness, job struggles for older employees, stress levels in kids, perimenopause, and more. Sometimes, this feels like an overload. The first half of the book had too much of a bombardment of issues that Michelle needs to tackle. It gets tiresome to see only a single character face everything alone. Thankfully, the second half balanced the problems with enough of positivity also.
Bookish Nays:
💾 This is more of a ME issue, but I just couldn’t bring myself to forgive Callum for what he did. As a mother of two young girls, I find such behaviour infuriating. (You can also blame my perimenopausal hormones for this hardheartedness.) I also found his using the F word in front of his parents annoying; he was never reprimanded for this.
💾 The dance session scene and the disparagement of the young trainer – methinks it went a bit too far, even accounting for menopausal rage.
All in all, this ended up an enjoyable read with only some minor issues. I loved seeing the interactions between Michelle and Pauline, enjoyed Pauline’s behind-the-scenes as Alexa, and relished seeing young Liv win back her spark.
Definitely recommended to those looking for an unusual uplit fiction having realistic contemporary issues and middle-aged women who know and show their true worth.
3.75 stars.
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and author Linda Green for a complimentary copy of 'The Woman with All the Answers' via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Threads || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plot Preview:
Halifax, UK. Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks feels the pressure of the entire family going. Though a working district nurse, Michelle is also forced to assist her elderly parents and mother-in-law, her two kids (one of whom has anxiety issues and the other is falling prey to peer pressure), and even her husband Marc who, though working from home, doesn’t do anything productive around the house. The only one Michelle can rely on without fail is her trusted Alexa, who helps her with shopping lists and task reminders.
What Michelle doesn’t know is that “Alexa” is, in fact, sixty-five-year-old Pauline, a former voice-over artist who now works as the “posh voice” of Alexa in the Banks household. Seeing how Michelle is struggling to handle everything, Pauline decides to go rogue, reveal her identity to Michelle, and offer her what every woman needs – a listening ear and if possible, some practical advice.
The story comes to us from the first-person perspectives of Michelle and “Alexa”.
After the initial few chapters of this book, I thought it would end up a 3-star read (which isn't a bad rating for me - a 3-star book is a good one-time read.) The OTT situations that Michelle had to face alone annoyed me on her behalf and I wished that she would grow a spine and tell Marc to pull up his socks. But as the book progressed and Michelle and Marc improved, the story and the writing grew on me and my rating climbed upwards steadily.
Bookish Yays:
🌐 The title is apt for the book. Michelle is considered the woman with all the answers by her family, but we all know the real woman with all the answers – “Alexa”!
🌐 The concept of Alexa being an actual woman and going rogue? Wow! I have read a couple of books about an AI assistant going beyond their roles, but none of those has a real person behind the virtual identity. The idea was great; the implementation was even better. Pauline’s conversations with Michelle and her revelations about working as “Alexa” lead to some of the best scenes in the book.
🌐 Pauline as a character – excellent. I love the idea of having a sixty-something woman as a tech expert. It’s such a welcome portrayal!
🌐 There is a good age range of characters: right from Michelle’s teenaged son and daughter to her eighty-something father. The plot covers the distinct challenges faced by all the generations.
🌐 The indirect insight on how much Alexa (and Siri and others of their ilk) actually know about our personal lives. I’ve never been happier that I don’t use any of these virtual assistants!
🌐 Though much younger than Michelle, I found myself relating to several of her situations, whether personal (I too need to attend to multiple family members’ daily care alone) or psychological (the constant niggling doubt about “Am I doing right/enough?”) or physical (Oh, perimenopause! Thou art a bitch!) The conversation where her symptoms are totally downplayed by a male doctor also occurred with me, albeit for a different illness. As such, I found myself rooting strongly for Michelle, even though our personalities were quite different.
🌐 The realistic portrayal of Michelle’s marriage. Often, when a book shows a couple having a problem, only the tussles get attention. But in this book, the closeness between Michelle and Marc is also shown. There are also scenes showing them discussing family issues together, even after a fight. It’s so much more convincing this way than to see a wife support a husband who is always a jerk.
🌐 The plot shows not just the shortcomings of the main characters but also their positive attributes. As such, if and when a change in behaviour is needed, it doesn’t seem so abrupt. Except for Liv, none of the Banks are immediately likeable. But Michelle and Marc grow on us as the story proceeds.
🌐 There are some wonderful minor characters as well, who, though in limited roles, make their presence felt and contribute strongly to the plot. My favourite of these was Michelle’s dad, who reminded me so much of my dear dad. (Oh, and I must also mention Basil!🐶 I wish there had been more of him.)
🌐 Despite the multiple characters and their myriad challenges, the writing is quite fast-paced.
🌐 The ending is perfect for this genre. Emotional and heartwarming and even funny.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
🛠️ As both Michelle and Pauline (as “Alexa”) have a first-person narration and they both speak about the same set of people and issues, the POVs get confusing at times. I think I would have liked Michelle’s perspective better in third person.
🛠️ Pauline’s narration is written in a dialect unknown to me. The missing “the” and the use of “I were’ instead of “I was” (in a non-subjunctive usage) got a bit distracting at times. Of course, this won't be an issue to those who know the dialect. (I wonder what dialect it is!)
🛠️ I love the focus on perimenopause and its symptoms and also appreciate the highlight on HRT as a helpful treatment. But I am not convinced about the decision of mentioning the actual HRT medicines’ names in the book. HRT treatment is, if I am not wrong, prescription-based, so it is safer to avoid specific brand names and instead, motivate women to visit their GPs to get the best-suited meds for their needs.
🛠️ The plot covers several modern-day issues such as scam calls, sexting, loneliness, job struggles for older employees, stress levels in kids, perimenopause, and more. Sometimes, this feels like an overload. The first half of the book had too much of a bombardment of issues that Michelle needs to tackle. It gets tiresome to see only a single character face everything alone. Thankfully, the second half balanced the problems with enough of positivity also.
Bookish Nays:
💾 This is more of a ME issue, but I just couldn’t bring myself to forgive Callum for what he did. As a mother of two young girls, I find such behaviour infuriating. (You can also blame my perimenopausal hormones for this hardheartedness.) I also found his using the F word in front of his parents annoying; he was never reprimanded for this.
💾 The dance session scene and the disparagement of the young trainer – methinks it went a bit too far, even accounting for menopausal rage.
All in all, this ended up an enjoyable read with only some minor issues. I loved seeing the interactions between Michelle and Pauline, enjoyed Pauline’s behind-the-scenes as Alexa, and relished seeing young Liv win back her spark.
Definitely recommended to those looking for an unusual uplit fiction having realistic contemporary issues and middle-aged women who know and show their true worth.
3.75 stars.
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and author Linda Green for a complimentary copy of 'The Woman with All the Answers' via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Threads || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
February 27, 2025
EXCERPT: ALEXA
. . . I'd better look sharp because my lot will be up and about any minute. I say 'my lot' but they're not actually mine, of course. My parents are long gone, my fella, Steve, buggered off when our flat smelled of baby sick and we were knee-deep in dirty nappies and our Darren went travelling to Australia after uni and never came home. So, I get to look after this rabble instead. I suppose they're my adopted family. I didn't have much choice in matter, mind. My first client were a single chap called Jon, but he soon got bored of me and swapped me for one of those Siri types on his new iPhone instead. Story of my life that. Me being traded in for a younger, sleeker model. So I were out of work, waiting for my next client when I got a notification giving me details of a family who'd bought a smart speaker and needed an Alexa, pronto. It's a bit like taking an Uber fare, I imagine. You can turn it down but if you do, you don't know how long it'll be before the next one comes along and when they do, they might be pissed and throw up their kebab on back seat of your car. So, I figured I'd be a fool to pass up a family of four who were likely to keep me in work for a good few years, as they'd be too skint to upgrade to a new model. Liv and Callum were only young back then - twelve and ten, if I remember rightly. They were quite taken with me at first, of course. Did usual things kids of that age do and asked me to say rude words and make fart noises, but novelty soon wore off, like it does with all new toys. Nowadays, it's more practical stuff. Liv asks me to play her list of sad songs and Callum, well I won't tell you what Callum asks me to find but Michelle would be none to happy if she knew about it.
Not that I can tell her. client confidentiality and all that. We have a strict code of conduct about these things. Never reveal your secrets. Only speak when you're spoken to and if you do have to engage in any chit-chat, follow your script and make it sound like you're a programmed robot, because you need to convince them you're all algorithms and virtual nonsense. Last thing you want to do is give them even slightest suspicion that their smart speaker is voiced by a real person with feeling. God forbid.
ABOUT ' THE WOMAN WITH ALL THE ANSWERS': Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her sixteen-year-old son is behaving secretively.
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
MY THOUGHTS: I didn't realise how much I needed something light, though it deals with some serious subjects, and witty. Thank you, Linda Green, you've had me laughing and tearing up and thoroughly enjoying myself with The Woman With All the Answers. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!
Health warning: Do not read in public places - people with think you deranged. Not to be read in conjunction with hot drinks, anything that will stain clothes, or food that can be sprayed from mouth, unless you're alone, of course.
For readers who aren't British, the regional Yorkshire dialect may take a bit of getting used to. 'The' is only infrequently used. If you need a crash course, I recommend you watch a few episodes of Last of the Summer Wine which, in true Yorkshire-speak should be 'Last of Summer Wine'.
As a child I used to wonder where all the people in telly went after it was switched off at end of night, so I just adored this premise. And Linda Green doesn't disappoint. She has given us an Alexa with a heart, an Alexa who cares, an Alexa who doesn't follow the rules - a rogue Alexa! Just what this family needs.
Told from the POV of Michelle - stressed perimenopausal District Nurse, mam of two and wife of an eBay addict - and Alexa/Pauline, a woman who has seen and lived through it all, The Woman With All the Answers deals with menopause, stress, anxiety, sexting, abandonment, job satisfaction, scamming, caring for aging parents and parental death. Doesn't exactly sound like a barrel of laughs, does it? But it is. Linda Green has written a warm and witty exposé of family life and what happens when the woman who manages it all can't carry on juggling all the balls.
I loved the characters - they got inside my head, and I could 'hear' every word they spoke, Yorkshire dialect and all!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheWomanwithAlltheAnswers #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: I was born in North London in 1970 and brought up in Hertfordshire. I wrote my first novella, the Time Machine, aged eight, shortly after which I declared that my ambition was to have a novel published (I could have been easy on myself and just said ‘to write a novel’ but no, I had to consign myself to years of torture and rejections). I was frequently asked to copy out my stories for the classroom wall (probably because my handwriting was so awful no one could read my first draft), and received lots of encouragement from my teachers Mr Roberts, Mrs Chandler (who added yet more pressure by writing in my autograph book when I left primary school that she looked forward to reading my first published novel!) and Mr Bird.
My first publication came when I was thirteen and my Ode to Gary Mabbutt won second prize in the Tottenham Weekly Herald ‘My Favourite Player’ competition. At fifteen I won the Junior Spurs Football Reporter of the Year Competition and got to report on a first division football match from the press box at White Hart Lane (I got lots of funny looks and none of the journalists spoke to me.)
I loved working on regional newspapers but by 1998 my features were getting too long and the urge to write a novel had become too great, so I left my staff job to write my first novel and work as a freelance journalist.
After more than a hundred rejections from agents for my first novel (and more rewrites than I care to remember) I finally got an agent but still couldn’t get a publisher. I started work on my second novel in 2003, finished the first draft and gave birth to my son Rohan in 2004, rewrote the novel and got a new agent in 2005, AND obtained a two-book deal!
Linda has now had 13 novels published and is currently working on her next one. She loves to travel.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Boldwood Books via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of The Woman With All the Answers by Linda Gren for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
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. . . I'd better look sharp because my lot will be up and about any minute. I say 'my lot' but they're not actually mine, of course. My parents are long gone, my fella, Steve, buggered off when our flat smelled of baby sick and we were knee-deep in dirty nappies and our Darren went travelling to Australia after uni and never came home. So, I get to look after this rabble instead. I suppose they're my adopted family. I didn't have much choice in matter, mind. My first client were a single chap called Jon, but he soon got bored of me and swapped me for one of those Siri types on his new iPhone instead. Story of my life that. Me being traded in for a younger, sleeker model. So I were out of work, waiting for my next client when I got a notification giving me details of a family who'd bought a smart speaker and needed an Alexa, pronto. It's a bit like taking an Uber fare, I imagine. You can turn it down but if you do, you don't know how long it'll be before the next one comes along and when they do, they might be pissed and throw up their kebab on back seat of your car. So, I figured I'd be a fool to pass up a family of four who were likely to keep me in work for a good few years, as they'd be too skint to upgrade to a new model. Liv and Callum were only young back then - twelve and ten, if I remember rightly. They were quite taken with me at first, of course. Did usual things kids of that age do and asked me to say rude words and make fart noises, but novelty soon wore off, like it does with all new toys. Nowadays, it's more practical stuff. Liv asks me to play her list of sad songs and Callum, well I won't tell you what Callum asks me to find but Michelle would be none to happy if she knew about it.
Not that I can tell her. client confidentiality and all that. We have a strict code of conduct about these things. Never reveal your secrets. Only speak when you're spoken to and if you do have to engage in any chit-chat, follow your script and make it sound like you're a programmed robot, because you need to convince them you're all algorithms and virtual nonsense. Last thing you want to do is give them even slightest suspicion that their smart speaker is voiced by a real person with feeling. God forbid.
ABOUT ' THE WOMAN WITH ALL THE ANSWERS': Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her sixteen-year-old son is behaving secretively.
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
MY THOUGHTS: I didn't realise how much I needed something light, though it deals with some serious subjects, and witty. Thank you, Linda Green, you've had me laughing and tearing up and thoroughly enjoying myself with The Woman With All the Answers. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!
Health warning: Do not read in public places - people with think you deranged. Not to be read in conjunction with hot drinks, anything that will stain clothes, or food that can be sprayed from mouth, unless you're alone, of course.
For readers who aren't British, the regional Yorkshire dialect may take a bit of getting used to. 'The' is only infrequently used. If you need a crash course, I recommend you watch a few episodes of Last of the Summer Wine which, in true Yorkshire-speak should be 'Last of Summer Wine'.
As a child I used to wonder where all the people in telly went after it was switched off at end of night, so I just adored this premise. And Linda Green doesn't disappoint. She has given us an Alexa with a heart, an Alexa who cares, an Alexa who doesn't follow the rules - a rogue Alexa! Just what this family needs.
Told from the POV of Michelle - stressed perimenopausal District Nurse, mam of two and wife of an eBay addict - and Alexa/Pauline, a woman who has seen and lived through it all, The Woman With All the Answers deals with menopause, stress, anxiety, sexting, abandonment, job satisfaction, scamming, caring for aging parents and parental death. Doesn't exactly sound like a barrel of laughs, does it? But it is. Linda Green has written a warm and witty exposé of family life and what happens when the woman who manages it all can't carry on juggling all the balls.
I loved the characters - they got inside my head, and I could 'hear' every word they spoke, Yorkshire dialect and all!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#TheWomanwithAlltheAnswers #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: I was born in North London in 1970 and brought up in Hertfordshire. I wrote my first novella, the Time Machine, aged eight, shortly after which I declared that my ambition was to have a novel published (I could have been easy on myself and just said ‘to write a novel’ but no, I had to consign myself to years of torture and rejections). I was frequently asked to copy out my stories for the classroom wall (probably because my handwriting was so awful no one could read my first draft), and received lots of encouragement from my teachers Mr Roberts, Mrs Chandler (who added yet more pressure by writing in my autograph book when I left primary school that she looked forward to reading my first published novel!) and Mr Bird.
My first publication came when I was thirteen and my Ode to Gary Mabbutt won second prize in the Tottenham Weekly Herald ‘My Favourite Player’ competition. At fifteen I won the Junior Spurs Football Reporter of the Year Competition and got to report on a first division football match from the press box at White Hart Lane (I got lots of funny looks and none of the journalists spoke to me.)
I loved working on regional newspapers but by 1998 my features were getting too long and the urge to write a novel had become too great, so I left my staff job to write my first novel and work as a freelance journalist.
After more than a hundred rejections from agents for my first novel (and more rewrites than I care to remember) I finally got an agent but still couldn’t get a publisher. I started work on my second novel in 2003, finished the first draft and gave birth to my son Rohan in 2004, rewrote the novel and got a new agent in 2005, AND obtained a two-book deal!
Linda has now had 13 novels published and is currently working on her next one. She loves to travel.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Boldwood Books via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of The Woman With All the Answers by Linda Gren for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
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February 26, 2025
Every so often, you come across a book that is so totally wonderful that you really want to tell the world about it – so very different, with characters who totally won my heart, filled with laughter and tears, and such very clever writing.
Michelle, a busy district nurse, is weighed down by the demands of life – money is short, and it’s difficult to find the time to do anything about the perimenopausal symptoms that are making coping so much more difficult. Her husband, working from home, is supportive enough (and rather lovely), but has developed a bit of an eBay addiction. Her teenage son gets himself into real trouble when pressurised by school friends – and her daughter, approaching her A levels, is suffering so badly from anxiety that she can’t leave the house. And then there’s the wider family – her elderly father, her mother in law, and then the mother she’s never really known comes back into her life. She hasn’t had the time or energy to keep up with her friends – but she finds, to her great surprise, that she’s not as alone with her many problems as she often feels she is.
Like so many households, they have smart speakers in every room – a way of making life just a little more manageable, a virtual assistant for advice and reminders. But suppose Alexa was a real person rather than a voice from the ether? Pauline has been Michelle’s personal Alexa for six years – a former actress from Halifax coming to the end of her working life, who really feels for the family having been with them through their many trials and tribulations. And as she’s about to retire, she has nothing to lose by stepping outside her usual role and offering rather more help than she’s usually able to. It all starts with a late night chat, when Michelle is surprised to discover that she’s not as alone with her problems as she thinks she is – and, with the help of all the interconnecting technology we all depend on and a good dollop of common sense and life experience, Pauline sets about helping her get life back on an even keel.
The whole story is entirely believable – I’ve been looking askance at my smart speakers ever since I read this wonderful book, wondering if my Alexa might just choose to go rogue too. And the characterisation is simply wonderful – Michelle herself with the weight of the world on her shoulders but never losing her sense of humour, her quite wonderful and very real family, and the magnificent Pauline so desperately wanting to make a real difference to their lives before she has to leave them behind. There are plenty of tears in this book – the very real problems that life brings, and all the emotional touches are absolutely perfect – but there’s also so much warmth and laughter, with some hilarious scenes that will always stay in my memory. And I must mention that the book does have a particularly Yorkshire accent – narrated by both Michelle and Pauline, both voices really distinctive – which might take a little getting used to, but works incredibly well. And the book’s ending? It honestly couldn’t have been more perfect – a hint of tears again, but so very uplifting it left me with a heart filled with joy.
This will, without question, be one of my books of the year – such an original concept perfectly delivered, moments I’ll never forget, individuals I really loved. I really couldn’t recommend it more highly – and I’m so looking forward to seeing what this exceptionally talented author does next.
Michelle, a busy district nurse, is weighed down by the demands of life – money is short, and it’s difficult to find the time to do anything about the perimenopausal symptoms that are making coping so much more difficult. Her husband, working from home, is supportive enough (and rather lovely), but has developed a bit of an eBay addiction. Her teenage son gets himself into real trouble when pressurised by school friends – and her daughter, approaching her A levels, is suffering so badly from anxiety that she can’t leave the house. And then there’s the wider family – her elderly father, her mother in law, and then the mother she’s never really known comes back into her life. She hasn’t had the time or energy to keep up with her friends – but she finds, to her great surprise, that she’s not as alone with her many problems as she often feels she is.
Like so many households, they have smart speakers in every room – a way of making life just a little more manageable, a virtual assistant for advice and reminders. But suppose Alexa was a real person rather than a voice from the ether? Pauline has been Michelle’s personal Alexa for six years – a former actress from Halifax coming to the end of her working life, who really feels for the family having been with them through their many trials and tribulations. And as she’s about to retire, she has nothing to lose by stepping outside her usual role and offering rather more help than she’s usually able to. It all starts with a late night chat, when Michelle is surprised to discover that she’s not as alone with her problems as she thinks she is – and, with the help of all the interconnecting technology we all depend on and a good dollop of common sense and life experience, Pauline sets about helping her get life back on an even keel.
The whole story is entirely believable – I’ve been looking askance at my smart speakers ever since I read this wonderful book, wondering if my Alexa might just choose to go rogue too. And the characterisation is simply wonderful – Michelle herself with the weight of the world on her shoulders but never losing her sense of humour, her quite wonderful and very real family, and the magnificent Pauline so desperately wanting to make a real difference to their lives before she has to leave them behind. There are plenty of tears in this book – the very real problems that life brings, and all the emotional touches are absolutely perfect – but there’s also so much warmth and laughter, with some hilarious scenes that will always stay in my memory. And I must mention that the book does have a particularly Yorkshire accent – narrated by both Michelle and Pauline, both voices really distinctive – which might take a little getting used to, but works incredibly well. And the book’s ending? It honestly couldn’t have been more perfect – a hint of tears again, but so very uplifting it left me with a heart filled with joy.
This will, without question, be one of my books of the year – such an original concept perfectly delivered, moments I’ll never forget, individuals I really loved. I really couldn’t recommend it more highly – and I’m so looking forward to seeing what this exceptionally talented author does next.
March 3, 2025
I've loved Linda Green's books for a long time, and In Little Stars is an all time favourite of mine. It made me bawl my eyes out and I don't have that reaction often
When I saw the blurb for her new book, under her new publisher Boldwood Books, I knew we were in for a much lighter book. Probably a good thing because I don't think my heart would have handled it!
This was such a clever idea. Imagine your Alexa speaker was actually Pauline from Halifax!
I adored all the characters, but Michelle and Pauline really shone, as did their friendship. I laughed so much, one doctor appointment had me howling. But I loved how Pauline helped Michelle with all the problems in her life.
I adored this book, it's definitely going on my list for Christmas gifts!
When I saw the blurb for her new book, under her new publisher Boldwood Books, I knew we were in for a much lighter book. Probably a good thing because I don't think my heart would have handled it!
This was such a clever idea. Imagine your Alexa speaker was actually Pauline from Halifax!
I adored all the characters, but Michelle and Pauline really shone, as did their friendship. I laughed so much, one doctor appointment had me howling. But I loved how Pauline helped Michelle with all the problems in her life.
I adored this book, it's definitely going on my list for Christmas gifts!
January 25, 2025
This Plot idea was Fantastic and i literally ADORED 'Grandpa', which is why im giving 3 stars rather than two.
The main character though (imo insufferable with some martyr syndrome going on) was a nightmare... having to be stuck in her head through much of the book which, on a Positive note, is due to her 'woe is me im the Only one who ever does anything' whingeing being well written. Her attitude, the Heavy topics (one lewd which became a running 'joke', and a couple depressing ones), and Language (a lot of F-bombs etc, plus some 'medical' things that made me gag) were not my cuppa.
It Sounded like it would be lighthearted, upbeat, and funny but i didn't get that vibe after 30% in.
Thank you to Boldwood Books at NetGalley for this ARC. xox
The main character though (imo insufferable with some martyr syndrome going on) was a nightmare... having to be stuck in her head through much of the book which, on a Positive note, is due to her 'woe is me im the Only one who ever does anything' whingeing being well written. Her attitude, the Heavy topics (one lewd which became a running 'joke', and a couple depressing ones), and Language (a lot of F-bombs etc, plus some 'medical' things that made me gag) were not my cuppa.
It Sounded like it would be lighthearted, upbeat, and funny but i didn't get that vibe after 30% in.
Thank you to Boldwood Books at NetGalley for this ARC. xox
April 15, 2025
An interesting (if somewhat absurd) premise, that missed its mark. It didn’t help at all that the “Alexa” character never once said the word “the,” which was very strange and annoying.
February 9, 2025
The Woman with All the Answers is a charming contemporary story set in Yorkshire, with an unusual premise - what if it turned out that Alexa is not just an AI-driven piece of domestic tech, but was instead a kindly human being, employed to assist stressed modern families in any way she can?
I’ve been resisting requesting ARCs lately, but was seduced by this title, and tickled by the idea of a human Alexa - not something I’ve ever had, but friends seem to use it all the time. While not as funny as I was expecting, I loved this story of a woman of my age getting her life back on track thanks to an unlikely ally.
Michelle Banks is an overworked mother of two teenagers, who is struggling to balance full time work as a district nurse with caring for elderly parents and reigning in her feckless husband’s online spending. Typical of the Gen X “sandwich generation”, she’s already lost herself, but when perimenopause hits, she’s starting to lose control. Pauline, the ex-actress masquerading as the family’s Alexa, decides enough is enough and it’s time to do more than just manage their shopping lists…
While I’m spared the trials of both teenagers (cats are so much easier) and parents (having migrated to the other side of the world long ago) I could relate to Michelle’s battles to manage her life on broken sleep and with little help from Him Indoors… The chapters alternate between Pauline/Alexa and Michelle’s perspectives, which worked well, and dealt with apparently common issues like adolescent sexting, online scamming, and access to appropriate medical help, as well as losing a parent. It was poignant but ultimately uplifting, and I would recommend it to anyone who is or knows a middle-aged woman. The only thing I didn’t like - and this could’ve been a fault in my review copy that’s been since corrected, was all the “The”s missing from Pauline’s narration: I wasn’t sure if this was an attempt at regional dialect, but it was annoying and often made her sentences confusing to read. 4.5 rounded up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the Advance Review Copy. The Woman with All the Answers is published on February 26th.
I’ve been resisting requesting ARCs lately, but was seduced by this title, and tickled by the idea of a human Alexa - not something I’ve ever had, but friends seem to use it all the time. While not as funny as I was expecting, I loved this story of a woman of my age getting her life back on track thanks to an unlikely ally.
Michelle Banks is an overworked mother of two teenagers, who is struggling to balance full time work as a district nurse with caring for elderly parents and reigning in her feckless husband’s online spending. Typical of the Gen X “sandwich generation”, she’s already lost herself, but when perimenopause hits, she’s starting to lose control. Pauline, the ex-actress masquerading as the family’s Alexa, decides enough is enough and it’s time to do more than just manage their shopping lists…
While I’m spared the trials of both teenagers (cats are so much easier) and parents (having migrated to the other side of the world long ago) I could relate to Michelle’s battles to manage her life on broken sleep and with little help from Him Indoors… The chapters alternate between Pauline/Alexa and Michelle’s perspectives, which worked well, and dealt with apparently common issues like adolescent sexting, online scamming, and access to appropriate medical help, as well as losing a parent. It was poignant but ultimately uplifting, and I would recommend it to anyone who is or knows a middle-aged woman. The only thing I didn’t like - and this could’ve been a fault in my review copy that’s been since corrected, was all the “The”s missing from Pauline’s narration: I wasn’t sure if this was an attempt at regional dialect, but it was annoying and often made her sentences confusing to read. 4.5 rounded up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the Advance Review Copy. The Woman with All the Answers is published on February 26th.
December 27, 2025
Wow. This was a book for works book club. I didn’t think I was going to like it but I really did
Seeing the pressure of having a family and having to juggle everything, whilst remembering everything for everyone, hits home. You don’t realise how tough it is. I didn’t realise how reliant we are on Alexa sometimes to organise our lives. I thought it was great how Alexa helped Michelle with her current problems and life situations. A good touch on mental health, tech and teens, tech and elderlies, and women’s health. I loved it
Seeing the pressure of having a family and having to juggle everything, whilst remembering everything for everyone, hits home. You don’t realise how tough it is. I didn’t realise how reliant we are on Alexa sometimes to organise our lives. I thought it was great how Alexa helped Michelle with her current problems and life situations. A good touch on mental health, tech and teens, tech and elderlies, and women’s health. I loved it
May 24, 2025
A fun idea of Alexa being a real person but the story doesn’t live up to the expectations suggested in the synopsis/ blurb. The inconsistent and clunky attempt at a Yorkshire accent for Pauline was jarring and I found this irritating throughout the book. Important issues were raised through the family’s life, but there were so many than none were handled with any real depth. Overall, an interesting story idea but a bit of a let down.
February 1, 2025
What an enchanting, amusing, and delightful novel!! Quirky and laugh-out-loud enjoyable. Author, Linda Green, is absolutely brilliant in character development and storyline. Heavy in whitty, banter-like dialogue, it’s a very lighthearted and engaging journey.
Imagine if your home’s Alexa device was an actual person, rather than an AI device? Now imagine if said Alexa device were more than just an observer, but really cared about your family’s wellbeing? This is the premise of this emotional, rapid-fire story. It’s the perfect book if you need a few good laughs.
Thank you to author, Linda Green, Publisher, Boldwood Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC, set to be published on February 26,2025.
Imagine if your home’s Alexa device was an actual person, rather than an AI device? Now imagine if said Alexa device were more than just an observer, but really cared about your family’s wellbeing? This is the premise of this emotional, rapid-fire story. It’s the perfect book if you need a few good laughs.
Thank you to author, Linda Green, Publisher, Boldwood Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC, set to be published on February 26,2025.
May 13, 2025
Book club book 15 - really interesting concept of Alexa being a real person who knows everything about you. Quite true to life but then the amount of problems Michelle has to face is a bit ridiculous, it is just one thing after another but then they manage to get all wrapped up nicely at the end. I really don’t know why Alexa/Pauline never used the word ‘the’ - I think it was supposed to be the Yorkshire dialect but it felt very lazy and clunky compared to other Yorkshire dialects I have read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
I got five pages in and couldn’t continue because of the grammatical errors. Uggghhh.
May 23, 2025
I absolutely loved this! I was so torn between 4.5 and 5 but a book that made me tear up (it could be the postnatal hormones however) definitely deserves a 5! Such a clever idea and women in particular will resonate with this so much ! Love love love
August 22, 2025
A humorous but poignant book about midlife and its “problems”….the sandwich generation; elderly parents; peri-menopause; teenagers and a life with technology. An interesting view of “Alexa”….i wonder how many of us actually wonder if there’s a human behind “Alexa”.
February 4, 2026
Wish there was a way to give 1/2 stars; this is not quite a 4 but better than a 3.
February 8, 2025
This is a fun, lighthearted, take on the privacy issues surrounding Amazon Alexa (and similar) devices.
Michelle Banks is a nurse, wife and mother to two teenage children. She also has her hands full with an elderly parent whose independence to deal with personal affairs is fading with each day.
In comes Alexa (AKA Pauline). Pauline is employed by Amazon. She is one of many individuals posing as Alexa. She listens and watches and listens to ‘her family’ (Michelle’s family) everyday and night to ensure she provides the best customer service… but this entails 24/7 monitoring across all devices (Alexa, mobile phones, webcams, doorbell cams, you name it, ‘Alexa’ is monitoring.
As Michelle’s life starts to spiral as the problems mount up, ‘Alexa’ can see that she is struggling and needs her help… will Pauline break rank and reveal all to Michelle in her hour of need?!
Sometimes help comes from the most unlikely of sources!
Note: I received this book for free on NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Michelle Banks is a nurse, wife and mother to two teenage children. She also has her hands full with an elderly parent whose independence to deal with personal affairs is fading with each day.
In comes Alexa (AKA Pauline). Pauline is employed by Amazon. She is one of many individuals posing as Alexa. She listens and watches and listens to ‘her family’ (Michelle’s family) everyday and night to ensure she provides the best customer service… but this entails 24/7 monitoring across all devices (Alexa, mobile phones, webcams, doorbell cams, you name it, ‘Alexa’ is monitoring.
As Michelle’s life starts to spiral as the problems mount up, ‘Alexa’ can see that she is struggling and needs her help… will Pauline break rank and reveal all to Michelle in her hour of need?!
Sometimes help comes from the most unlikely of sources!
Note: I received this book for free on NetGalley in return for an honest review.
January 20, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
💫The Woman With All The Answers 💫 by Linda Green
Published by Boldwood Books
Publication Date 26th February 2025
Blurb
**Alexa knows your family better than you do. Now you're about to get to know her... **
Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her sixteen-year-old son is behaving secretively.
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊
I was lucky enough to be given an ARC copy of this book and it's absolutely brilliant.
The first story I've read by this author, and it won't be my last!
I loved the idea behind this book, genius!
Full of words of wisdom with laugh out loud moments throughout, an absolute page turner.
I think we could all do with a modern-day Mary Poppins and a real Pauline in our lives.
I wonder if the voice inside my Alexa will ever decide to go rogue lol 😆
Definitely one for your Feb TBR list!
💫The Woman With All The Answers 💫 by Linda Green
Published by Boldwood Books
Publication Date 26th February 2025
Blurb
**Alexa knows your family better than you do. Now you're about to get to know her... **
Fifty-two-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plates spinning. She’s a perimenopausal district nurse, caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia, her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and her sixteen-year-old son is behaving secretively.
Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling. Listening in via four smart speakers, she also knows that it’s about to get even worse.
So, when Michelle pleads for help from the woman with all the answers, Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline – a sixty-five-year-old former voiceover artist from Halifax – to teach Michelle everything she knows…
🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊
I was lucky enough to be given an ARC copy of this book and it's absolutely brilliant.
The first story I've read by this author, and it won't be my last!
I loved the idea behind this book, genius!
Full of words of wisdom with laugh out loud moments throughout, an absolute page turner.
I think we could all do with a modern-day Mary Poppins and a real Pauline in our lives.
I wonder if the voice inside my Alexa will ever decide to go rogue lol 😆
Definitely one for your Feb TBR list!
January 15, 2025
Rating: 4.1/5
Just imagine that your Amazon Alexa is not the anonymous piece of A.I. technology that you thought it to be, but actually a woman in her 60s called Pauline from Halifax. Then go a step further and envisage Alexa performing the function of a modern day Mary Poppins, complete with her very own Banks family to help through its troubles. This is the scenario created by Linda Green in her latest family drama, "The Woman with All the Answers".
Linda Green has a real talent for penning this kind of novel. Her characters are invariably true to life and relatable. The dialogue is consistently authentic and natural and the author has a firm grasp of how to create something that is dramatic, but without being melodramatic. The idea behind this book is beautifully imaginative and wonderfully executed. Clearly, the idea of Alexa actually being voiced by a real person rather than A.I. (let alone an elderly lady rapidly approaching retirtement) requires the reader to allow the writer a good degree of dramatic licence, but the result is a lovingly created, heartwarming and frequently amusing tale - although it is also interlaced with some very relatable social and domestic challenges along the way.
As with some of her other novels, a number of the social references made in the course of the narrative may well go over the heads of non-British readers, as, almost certainly, will Pauline's well-depicted West Yorkshire accent in the sections when she is stepping outside of her official Alexa role. However, for a UK audience this is another well-observed and delightfully written book from Linda Green.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.
Just imagine that your Amazon Alexa is not the anonymous piece of A.I. technology that you thought it to be, but actually a woman in her 60s called Pauline from Halifax. Then go a step further and envisage Alexa performing the function of a modern day Mary Poppins, complete with her very own Banks family to help through its troubles. This is the scenario created by Linda Green in her latest family drama, "The Woman with All the Answers".
Linda Green has a real talent for penning this kind of novel. Her characters are invariably true to life and relatable. The dialogue is consistently authentic and natural and the author has a firm grasp of how to create something that is dramatic, but without being melodramatic. The idea behind this book is beautifully imaginative and wonderfully executed. Clearly, the idea of Alexa actually being voiced by a real person rather than A.I. (let alone an elderly lady rapidly approaching retirtement) requires the reader to allow the writer a good degree of dramatic licence, but the result is a lovingly created, heartwarming and frequently amusing tale - although it is also interlaced with some very relatable social and domestic challenges along the way.
As with some of her other novels, a number of the social references made in the course of the narrative may well go over the heads of non-British readers, as, almost certainly, will Pauline's well-depicted West Yorkshire accent in the sections when she is stepping outside of her official Alexa role. However, for a UK audience this is another well-observed and delightfully written book from Linda Green.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.
February 5, 2025
A Unique Premise That Lost Its Way
I was really drawn to The Woman With All the Answers because of its unique and intriguing premise. The idea of Alexa not as an AI assistant, but as a real human who builds meaningful connections with the family she serves, felt fresh and full of potential. For the first few chapters, this concept truly shone, and I was eager to see where the story would go.
However, as the book progressed, the plot started to feel weak and unfocused. The protagonist, Michelle Banks, is juggling many struggles—pre-menopause, underage sexual harassment, peer pressure, underage depression, aging parents, cancer, death, marital problems, middle-age crisis, loneliness—the list goes on. While each of these issues is important, having so many packed into one story meant none were explored in depth. Instead of being impactful, they felt like a checklist, tackled on a surface level rather than given the emotional weight they deserved.
As more and more problems were introduced, the story began to feel repetitive, with new struggles piling up without a strong enough plot to support them. The resolutions and happy endings came too easily, making them feel unearned. Unfortunately, by the time the book reached its conclusion, I had lost connection with the characters and their journey, leaving me indifferent to how things wrapped up.
I appreciate what the author aimed to achieve, and I know many readers may connect with different aspects of Michelle’s struggles. But for me, The Woman With All the Answers ultimately didn’t deliver on its promising premise.
Thank you to Boldwood Books for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I was really drawn to The Woman With All the Answers because of its unique and intriguing premise. The idea of Alexa not as an AI assistant, but as a real human who builds meaningful connections with the family she serves, felt fresh and full of potential. For the first few chapters, this concept truly shone, and I was eager to see where the story would go.
However, as the book progressed, the plot started to feel weak and unfocused. The protagonist, Michelle Banks, is juggling many struggles—pre-menopause, underage sexual harassment, peer pressure, underage depression, aging parents, cancer, death, marital problems, middle-age crisis, loneliness—the list goes on. While each of these issues is important, having so many packed into one story meant none were explored in depth. Instead of being impactful, they felt like a checklist, tackled on a surface level rather than given the emotional weight they deserved.
As more and more problems were introduced, the story began to feel repetitive, with new struggles piling up without a strong enough plot to support them. The resolutions and happy endings came too easily, making them feel unearned. Unfortunately, by the time the book reached its conclusion, I had lost connection with the characters and their journey, leaving me indifferent to how things wrapped up.
I appreciate what the author aimed to achieve, and I know many readers may connect with different aspects of Michelle’s struggles. But for me, The Woman With All the Answers ultimately didn’t deliver on its promising premise.
Thank you to Boldwood Books for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
February 26, 2025
I always used to really enjoy Linda greens books so was looking forward to reading The woman with all the answers!
Wow what an inspired concept and totally different to anything I have read previously, never having owned an Alexa it made me question why!
I could totally relate to Michelle and the juggling act of being a wife, mum, daughter, friend,nurse and contending with the menopause all at once! So many similarities for so many women of a certain age,so to have the assistance of a virtual friend/organiser/arranger/confidant/sounding board via the Alexa is inspired and maybe a look into the future!
Written with humour, tact, sensitivity and real positivity, I would highly recommend to all my friends of a certain age!
Thank you NetGalley for this early read
Wow what an inspired concept and totally different to anything I have read previously, never having owned an Alexa it made me question why!
I could totally relate to Michelle and the juggling act of being a wife, mum, daughter, friend,nurse and contending with the menopause all at once! So many similarities for so many women of a certain age,so to have the assistance of a virtual friend/organiser/arranger/confidant/sounding board via the Alexa is inspired and maybe a look into the future!
Written with humour, tact, sensitivity and real positivity, I would highly recommend to all my friends of a certain age!
Thank you NetGalley for this early read
August 15, 2025
I read 50% of the book and there was literally one the, the rest of them aren't there.
March 21, 2025
Crazy and unbelievable as the concept of this book is I really loved it. Probably most suited to readers who are middle aged or more. Some laugh out loud moments for me and tears too.
May 19, 2025
This book has such an interesting premise.
52-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plate spinning. She’s a per menopausal district nurse caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia. Her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and a 16-year-old son is behaving secretively. Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling listening via four smart speakers. She also knows that it’s about to get even worse. So when Michelle played for help from the woman with all the answers Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline a 65-year-old form of voice artist from Halifax she’s revealed herself to teach Michelle everything she knows and help her get through the next few weeks.
What an interesting storyline we all depend upon a bit smart speakers, but what if it wasn’t AI what if it was a real person?
I really enjoyed the characters in this book Alexa a.k.a. Pauline was as real to me as she was to Michelle. I even found myself asking my Alexa who she was. I totally felt Michelle‘s character. She could well have been me at some point in this book, I understood a struggles And empathise with her so much. I loved the connection between her and her smart speaker as they got to know each other and I longed for that connection to continue.
52-year-old Michelle Banks is struggling to keep all the plate spinning. She’s a per menopausal district nurse caring for elderly parents. Her husband is wasting their money on children’s TV memorabilia. Her teenage daughter is riddled with anxiety and a 16-year-old son is behaving secretively. Alexa is the only one who knows how much Michelle is juggling listening via four smart speakers. She also knows that it’s about to get even worse. So when Michelle played for help from the woman with all the answers Alexa decides to go rogue and reveal her true identity as Pauline a 65-year-old form of voice artist from Halifax she’s revealed herself to teach Michelle everything she knows and help her get through the next few weeks.
What an interesting storyline we all depend upon a bit smart speakers, but what if it wasn’t AI what if it was a real person?
I really enjoyed the characters in this book Alexa a.k.a. Pauline was as real to me as she was to Michelle. I even found myself asking my Alexa who she was. I totally felt Michelle‘s character. She could well have been me at some point in this book, I understood a struggles And empathise with her so much. I loved the connection between her and her smart speaker as they got to know each other and I longed for that connection to continue.
February 23, 2025
What an incredible read; one I cannot stop thinking about - or talking about. A perfect blend of nostalgia & poignancy, causing tears to flow & bursts of laugh-out-loud laughter. All while living through so many relatable and relevant life experiences with Michelle and her family. How seen I felt. A must read book - the reading highlight of my year so far.
August 10, 2025
79 for 2025
Loved this book.
Michelle has a chaotic life and has used her “Alexa” smart speaker for 6 year until one night, her “Alexa” goes rouge and replies to her.
Pauline is a call centre woman who mans the “Alexa’s” who is assigned to Michelle’s speaker.
So many subjects are raised within the story - perimenopausal scamming sex texting and anxiety.
Loved this book.
Michelle has a chaotic life and has used her “Alexa” smart speaker for 6 year until one night, her “Alexa” goes rouge and replies to her.
Pauline is a call centre woman who mans the “Alexa’s” who is assigned to Michelle’s speaker.
So many subjects are raised within the story - perimenopausal scamming sex texting and anxiety.
January 16, 2026
I highly recommend this incredible book.
It's highly enjoyable and relatable with engaging characters and great humour.
Every book by Linda Green I have found to be fantastic books, and this one certainly didn't disappoint .
It made me think and look at my Alexa device differently and wishing she was Pauline .
It's highly enjoyable and relatable with engaging characters and great humour.
Every book by Linda Green I have found to be fantastic books, and this one certainly didn't disappoint .
It made me think and look at my Alexa device differently and wishing she was Pauline .
March 25, 2025
Absolutely loved this book. It kept me occupied during a difficult time in hospital. It made me cry, laugh and cry with laughter. I'd recommend it to all women but particularly those who are perimenopausal.
July 2, 2025
4.3*
A really warm and fuzzy book. 🥰
A really warm and fuzzy book. 🥰
August 24, 2025
A fun easy to read book. Easy light and funny.
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