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Gabriel's Bay
A heart-warming, thoroughly entertaining novel about a whole community.
Kerry Macfarlane has run away from his wedding-that-wasn’t. He lands in coastal Gabriel’s Bay, billed as ‘a well-appointed small town’ on its website (last updated two decades ago). Here Kerry hopes to prove he’s not a complete failure. Or, at least, to give his most convincing impression.
But Gabriel’s Bay has its own problems – low employment, no tourists, and a daunting hill road between it and civilisation. And Kerry must also run the gauntlet of its inhabitants: Sidney, single mother deserted by a feckless ex; Mac, the straight-shooting doctor’s receptionist; a team of unruly nine-year-olds; a giant restaurateur; and the local progressive association, who’ll debate apostrophe placement until the crack of doom.
Can Kerry win their respect, and perhaps even love? Will his brilliant plan to transform the town’s fortunes earn him a lasting welcome in Gabriel’s Bay?
Kerry Macfarlane has run away from his wedding-that-wasn’t. He lands in coastal Gabriel’s Bay, billed as ‘a well-appointed small town’ on its website (last updated two decades ago). Here Kerry hopes to prove he’s not a complete failure. Or, at least, to give his most convincing impression.
But Gabriel’s Bay has its own problems – low employment, no tourists, and a daunting hill road between it and civilisation. And Kerry must also run the gauntlet of its inhabitants: Sidney, single mother deserted by a feckless ex; Mac, the straight-shooting doctor’s receptionist; a team of unruly nine-year-olds; a giant restaurateur; and the local progressive association, who’ll debate apostrophe placement until the crack of doom.
Can Kerry win their respect, and perhaps even love? Will his brilliant plan to transform the town’s fortunes earn him a lasting welcome in Gabriel’s Bay?
428 pages, Paperback
Published January 2, 2018
26 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Robertson
18 books91 followersIf you like fast-paced plots, sparkling funny dialogue and heartfelt emotion, I'm the romcom author for you. I write about real people struggling with real stuff, but who each get their own happy ending. My brand of humor is perceptive and kind and I love jokes and wordplay. I love to write series with characters who develop through each book - basically, I hate to let them go! I live in the glorious wine country of New Zealand, and share my life with one husband, two grown sons, four cats, two dogs and a flock of no longer spring chickens. Get good (and free) stuff by signing up to my newsletter: google catherinejrobertson author
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 14, 2020
Two and a half stars.
Having left his wedding, Kerry Macfarlane heads all the way over to New Zealand. He ends up in a place called Gabriel’s Bay. Gabriel’s Bay is not quite what he was expecting. It is hardly a thriving town but one of low employment, and no tourists and behind the times. Can Kerry find a place for himself here and help the town at the same time? As well as Kerry’s story there is that of single mother Sidney, Meredith Barton who is caring for her husband Jonty who in his grief has opted out of life since the death of one of their daughters. Add to that a very blunt doctor’s receptionist called Mac, and a whole heap of other characters.
And that was part of my problems with this story. I’d have rather stuck with Kerry, Sidney and Meredith and here more of their stories, instead of being introduced to so many characters it made it hard to connect and keep up with who was who. A lot of the dialogue seemed to me unnecessary. While the basic premise was interesting, it just seemed to go on and one too much with the large cast of characters, some of whom were just plain crass and annoying. To my mind, the story would have been better without them. I ended up skimming. However this is just my opinion and I am sure there are going to enjoy this story. So if you like stories set in small towns why not give it a go. It just didn’t work that well for me.
Having left his wedding, Kerry Macfarlane heads all the way over to New Zealand. He ends up in a place called Gabriel’s Bay. Gabriel’s Bay is not quite what he was expecting. It is hardly a thriving town but one of low employment, and no tourists and behind the times. Can Kerry find a place for himself here and help the town at the same time? As well as Kerry’s story there is that of single mother Sidney, Meredith Barton who is caring for her husband Jonty who in his grief has opted out of life since the death of one of their daughters. Add to that a very blunt doctor’s receptionist called Mac, and a whole heap of other characters.
And that was part of my problems with this story. I’d have rather stuck with Kerry, Sidney and Meredith and here more of their stories, instead of being introduced to so many characters it made it hard to connect and keep up with who was who. A lot of the dialogue seemed to me unnecessary. While the basic premise was interesting, it just seemed to go on and one too much with the large cast of characters, some of whom were just plain crass and annoying. To my mind, the story would have been better without them. I ended up skimming. However this is just my opinion and I am sure there are going to enjoy this story. So if you like stories set in small towns why not give it a go. It just didn’t work that well for me.
March 14, 2019
Very enjoyable NZ read
December 27, 2018
This book presents an interesting dilemma of being enjoyable to read but at the same time having flaws which spoil the overall effect. I suppose when you try something as ambitious as having a whole town community as your characters, then there are bound to be some consequences.
I do struggle with too large a cast of characters – struggle to put them all in the correct places, just as in real life I struggle to remember everyone’s names. In the case of ‘Gabriel’s Bay’ we take a step further and find a whole lot of them love wise cracking conversations. Everyone is trying to score points off everyone one else, and I found the effect exhausting. Most groups of people have a few individuals like this, they love a joke and a smart comment, but not all of them, all of the time.
There are likable characters, Kerry for example, is the outsider who comes to live there and quickly begins to make friends and ingratiate himself with long-time residents. There are do-gooders and busy-bodies, people in bad relationships and relationships that are splitting apart as we watch. Behind it all is a little coastal town that could easily be transplanted to numerous real places in New Zealand, not a lot happening and not a lot of people care.
I do struggle with too large a cast of characters – struggle to put them all in the correct places, just as in real life I struggle to remember everyone’s names. In the case of ‘Gabriel’s Bay’ we take a step further and find a whole lot of them love wise cracking conversations. Everyone is trying to score points off everyone one else, and I found the effect exhausting. Most groups of people have a few individuals like this, they love a joke and a smart comment, but not all of them, all of the time.
There are likable characters, Kerry for example, is the outsider who comes to live there and quickly begins to make friends and ingratiate himself with long-time residents. There are do-gooders and busy-bodies, people in bad relationships and relationships that are splitting apart as we watch. Behind it all is a little coastal town that could easily be transplanted to numerous real places in New Zealand, not a lot happening and not a lot of people care.
March 1, 2018
When I drive through those small NZ towns, I always wonder, what would it be like to live there? I have to admit, this is usually accompanied by a small shudder. (JAFA-from-UK, right there.) While country life can seem idyllic, I have the sense that city folk aren’t suffered gladly, that a too-large pepper grinder will mark you down as pretentious. (Seriously - that’s a true story. A friend who moved to the country was told by her neighbour next farm over to get a smaller one because people would think she was up herself.)
In Gabriel’s Bay, Catherine Robertson paints a picture of small-town life that rings true. Everyone knows everyone else’s business - at least, they think they do. In fact it becomes clear that beneath the idyllic beach community surface, much is dysfunctional and there are many secrets. Drugs, gangs, neglectful parents, depression, small-minded and power-hungry local busybodies … but events in the book show how, when a community pulls together, things can change. Kerry is the protagonist whose arrival in the fading coastal town shakes things up. His point of view is that of a recently arrived Brit, and as one myself I loved his authentic first impressions.
The main characters in the book are wonderfully drawn, and you want Kerry and Sid as your mates (though I’d be a little scared of Mac). Kerry, though - I want to banter with him at the bar long into those warm summer nights. A heartwarming read, which addresses some serious issues currently under the spotlight, particularly young guys’ fear of sharing their feelings, or of reaching out to ask for help when things go wrong.
In Gabriel’s Bay, Catherine Robertson paints a picture of small-town life that rings true. Everyone knows everyone else’s business - at least, they think they do. In fact it becomes clear that beneath the idyllic beach community surface, much is dysfunctional and there are many secrets. Drugs, gangs, neglectful parents, depression, small-minded and power-hungry local busybodies … but events in the book show how, when a community pulls together, things can change. Kerry is the protagonist whose arrival in the fading coastal town shakes things up. His point of view is that of a recently arrived Brit, and as one myself I loved his authentic first impressions.
The main characters in the book are wonderfully drawn, and you want Kerry and Sid as your mates (though I’d be a little scared of Mac). Kerry, though - I want to banter with him at the bar long into those warm summer nights. A heartwarming read, which addresses some serious issues currently under the spotlight, particularly young guys’ fear of sharing their feelings, or of reaching out to ask for help when things go wrong.
January 8, 2018
This is the perfect read for this time of year when we’re still happy to escape into a good book at the beach or under a shade tree and take the time to savour, in this instance, the leisurely revelation of the people who live in Gabriel’s Bay. Quite possibly a blend of the author’s own favourite small beachside New Zealand towns, the fictional Gabriel’s Bay harbours the sort of quirky, complex and warmly human characters that have become Catherine Robertson’s trademark – characters who tell their own story in their own clearly distinguishable voices, which is quite an art in itself.
Kerry Macfarlane, the central character, has escaped the UK, running away from jilting his bride the morning of the wedding, trying to start anew in a small seaside town where no one knows his shame. He brings football skills which he puts to good use in training a fledging team of nine-year-olds, the gift of the gab, and some bright ideas for saving the town from its slow decline into unemployment and lack of visitors, due to the daunting, winding mountainous road in. It’s not long before he meets financially stretched single mum Sidney and romance inevitably blossoms before fading in the wake of Kerry’s apparent fecklessness from taking on too much and dropping the ball once too often. Then there’s downright direct doctor’s receptionist Mac, clandestinely recruiting a replacement GP before the much-loved Doc Love works himself into the grave; Mac’s massive husband Jacko who runs the local café-bar; teenager Sam, soon to leave for city life, and his dodgy mates; nine-year-old Madison, whose narcissistic mum and dad are so busy with their irresponsible, improvident schemes they neglect their daughter daily; single-minded Bernard, stuck in a groove for an old flame; Kerry’s employer Meredith and her unpleasant husband Jonty; and King, the scavenging, overweight dog, who bookends Gabriel’s Bay as he roams the town or hangs round the New Year’s Eve barbecue and sniffs out the characters one by one.
Catherine Robertson’s creative talent has shifted once again with this novel. Known initially for her bestselling warmly funny chick lit novels, she followed with the more serious The Hiding Places, also a bestseller, and has now honed her character studies even more finely with Gabriel’s Bay. It’s a tribute to the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University how authors like me who’ve made a name for themselves in chick lit find a new mojo after a year completing an MA in Creative Writing at the Institute. Because that is what Catherine Robertson has achieved: Gabriel’s Bay has once again lifted her writing to a new level, exhibiting a true flair for inhabiting an ambitious range of characters and revealing the nuances and intricacies of a small-town milieu with deftness, grace, and sympathy. Yet she never loses that witty insight that makes each character’s journey of rediscovery, self-realisation and second chances feel very real.
Kerry Macfarlane, the central character, has escaped the UK, running away from jilting his bride the morning of the wedding, trying to start anew in a small seaside town where no one knows his shame. He brings football skills which he puts to good use in training a fledging team of nine-year-olds, the gift of the gab, and some bright ideas for saving the town from its slow decline into unemployment and lack of visitors, due to the daunting, winding mountainous road in. It’s not long before he meets financially stretched single mum Sidney and romance inevitably blossoms before fading in the wake of Kerry’s apparent fecklessness from taking on too much and dropping the ball once too often. Then there’s downright direct doctor’s receptionist Mac, clandestinely recruiting a replacement GP before the much-loved Doc Love works himself into the grave; Mac’s massive husband Jacko who runs the local café-bar; teenager Sam, soon to leave for city life, and his dodgy mates; nine-year-old Madison, whose narcissistic mum and dad are so busy with their irresponsible, improvident schemes they neglect their daughter daily; single-minded Bernard, stuck in a groove for an old flame; Kerry’s employer Meredith and her unpleasant husband Jonty; and King, the scavenging, overweight dog, who bookends Gabriel’s Bay as he roams the town or hangs round the New Year’s Eve barbecue and sniffs out the characters one by one.
Catherine Robertson’s creative talent has shifted once again with this novel. Known initially for her bestselling warmly funny chick lit novels, she followed with the more serious The Hiding Places, also a bestseller, and has now honed her character studies even more finely with Gabriel’s Bay. It’s a tribute to the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University how authors like me who’ve made a name for themselves in chick lit find a new mojo after a year completing an MA in Creative Writing at the Institute. Because that is what Catherine Robertson has achieved: Gabriel’s Bay has once again lifted her writing to a new level, exhibiting a true flair for inhabiting an ambitious range of characters and revealing the nuances and intricacies of a small-town milieu with deftness, grace, and sympathy. Yet she never loses that witty insight that makes each character’s journey of rediscovery, self-realisation and second chances feel very real.
May 14, 2019
Enjoyed this a lot. Young English guy running away from his past gets a job caring for an older man in Gabriel's Bay, New Zealand and gets drawn into the lives of its residents. Funny and insightful while also incorporating some serious issues like child neglect, crime, lack of options for young people, and more. I would have liked a better conclusion to the story of the little neglected girl Madison and her narcissistic, high rolling parents though. I was quite worried about Madison. And the implausible story of Brownie's rescue didn't quite ring true for me either. I guess it's a tribute to how wonderful Catherine Robertson's characterization is that I would totally read a whole book about Sam and Brownie's friendship, or about Madison and her terrible parents. Or Mac and Jacko. Or Sidney and her boys. Loved them all.
December 13, 2022
An enjoyable light romantic book, so many wonderfully kiwi moments and phrases, without being kitschy. If you've visited any of the small towns set on the coast, where businesses have disappeared, you'll easily imagine what Gabriel's Bay is like.
Reading this again almost 4 years later I've upped by rating to 5 stars. The people in Gabriel's Bay would I'm sure have made certain everyone managed during the Covid times. I'm about to order all Catherine Robertson's other books as my Christmas gift to myself because I cannot get them from the library!
Reading this again almost 4 years later I've upped by rating to 5 stars. The people in Gabriel's Bay would I'm sure have made certain everyone managed during the Covid times. I'm about to order all Catherine Robertson's other books as my Christmas gift to myself because I cannot get them from the library!
June 24, 2019
An interesting and believable assortment of characters [except maybe Kerry is a bit too good at the beginning], in a rural town which resembles parts of many NZ small towns. Current issues are drawn into the story in a mostly natural way. I miss the personalities now I am finished. It's better than a light read but is definitely not onerous.
July 6, 2020
I'm loving New Zealand fiction and the wonderful writers we have who describe places I know and understand.
Gabriel's Bay is a nice story well told, about a community of typical and not so typical New Zealanders. Looking forward to reading more of Catherine Robertson.
Gabriel's Bay is a nice story well told, about a community of typical and not so typical New Zealanders. Looking forward to reading more of Catherine Robertson.
February 7, 2018
Perfect summer read.
October 5, 2018
I loved this book - brilliant phrases on nearly every page. Painted a fantastic picture of small town New Zealand .
October 17, 2019
Perfect holiday read. Funny and charming.
December 16, 2017
Catherine Robertson's Gabriel'a Bay is a breezy read and enjoyable. Gabriel's Bay is a cosy small community in rural New Zealand, that's mostly long past it's use-by-date. At least that's what a large percentage of it's down-on-their luck locals thing.
When Kerry Macfarlane arrives to take up a position as a home help to find out that his prospective boss thought she had employed a woman. Nonetheless Kerry is given the job on a temporary basis to see if he can impress Meredith and her bed-ridden husband.
As Kerry settles in to Gabriel's Bay he begins to imagine a way to transform the town from a sleepy hollow to a tourist attraction, based on a miniature world of dolls created by Meredith and a massive toy railroad. And that's when the wheels start coming off as Kerry has to face up to the local progressive association for whom progress is actually the last thing they appear to want.
Kerry also hooks up with Sidney, a single mother, struggling to survive, befriends Mac, the about to retire doctor's receptionist and a force to be reckoned with. Gabriel's Bay may be a small town but Kerry soon finds out that its also home to big personalities. Can he get them on side and realise his ambitions. That's the pinnacle of the story and one which Kerry goes all out to achieve.
When Kerry Macfarlane arrives to take up a position as a home help to find out that his prospective boss thought she had employed a woman. Nonetheless Kerry is given the job on a temporary basis to see if he can impress Meredith and her bed-ridden husband.
As Kerry settles in to Gabriel's Bay he begins to imagine a way to transform the town from a sleepy hollow to a tourist attraction, based on a miniature world of dolls created by Meredith and a massive toy railroad. And that's when the wheels start coming off as Kerry has to face up to the local progressive association for whom progress is actually the last thing they appear to want.
Kerry also hooks up with Sidney, a single mother, struggling to survive, befriends Mac, the about to retire doctor's receptionist and a force to be reckoned with. Gabriel's Bay may be a small town but Kerry soon finds out that its also home to big personalities. Can he get them on side and realise his ambitions. That's the pinnacle of the story and one which Kerry goes all out to achieve.
July 13, 2023
I was introduced to Catherine Robertson at an Arts Festival event at the Toitoi recently.
Hadn’t heard of her or her books but always keen to read anything written by a kiwi.
I could definitely relate to the landscape and the small coastal town atmosphere.
I have to be honest I struggled quite a lot with the characters. There was so many! I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t get enough detail to feel like I knew them properly or whether it was my small brain, I definitely couldn’t sort out all the “extras”.
I read-on and never really got a grip on some of them but had the feel enough to still really enjoy the story. The main characters are typical of their demographic. A nosy old bat, a bossy scary battle axe, a struggling single mum, a rebellious teen, some dropkicks from the local hotel, a community doctor and his “know all” receptionist. It’s all there.
This book has it all and I’m really keen to read the next one as definitely some unresolved relationships I want to see progress.
Gabriel’s Bay is fictional but definitely relatable as are all the “kiwi-isms” (Did I just make up a word?) in this book.
Worth a read, it’s what I would call “delightful”
Hadn’t heard of her or her books but always keen to read anything written by a kiwi.
I could definitely relate to the landscape and the small coastal town atmosphere.
I have to be honest I struggled quite a lot with the characters. There was so many! I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t get enough detail to feel like I knew them properly or whether it was my small brain, I definitely couldn’t sort out all the “extras”.
I read-on and never really got a grip on some of them but had the feel enough to still really enjoy the story. The main characters are typical of their demographic. A nosy old bat, a bossy scary battle axe, a struggling single mum, a rebellious teen, some dropkicks from the local hotel, a community doctor and his “know all” receptionist. It’s all there.
This book has it all and I’m really keen to read the next one as definitely some unresolved relationships I want to see progress.
Gabriel’s Bay is fictional but definitely relatable as are all the “kiwi-isms” (Did I just make up a word?) in this book.
Worth a read, it’s what I would call “delightful”
August 9, 2018
This is a book set in a very small (fictional) New Zealand coastal town, but as the author says, it could be whichever community we think it is. It sounded like the Coromandel in the beginning, but is probably East Cape/Hawke Bay. The story focuses on a young Englishman coming to work in Gabriel's Bay, and quickly getting involved with the community, but there is a varied collection of locals who all get a turn in focus. It's really refreshing to read a NZ book which has likable, interesting characters, and is not written present tense, first person! I picked this up in the library thinking it might be terrible, and liked it so much I'll be looking for Catherine Robertson's other books now.
October 19, 2024
3.25 Stars - Audiobook- New Zealand - A pretty enjoyable cosy read with a bit of witty NZ humour. It is not necessarily my genre though and found that there were way too many characters to keep track of and make a connection with. A lot of commentary throughout the various small town lives but it didn’t exactly hit like I would hope. Wasn’t a fan of Sidney talking down about her appearance and wasn’t sold on the budding little romance with her and Kerry.
Glad I read it but probably won’t continue in the series.
Glad I read it but probably won’t continue in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2018
This is the first book I have read by this author and I will certainly be looking for her other books. The book lived up to its blurb, being engaging and heart-warming. Even some of the initially unsympathetic characters showed some heart by the end of the book. Most of the loose ends were tied up satisfactorily, while the one that wasn't resolved in a satisfactory way leaves scope for being revisited in a subsequent book.
April 13, 2018
I bought this book purely on impulse - I have not ready anything by this author before. It's actually a very good read, and I shall be seeking out Catherine Robertson in future. The characters are well drawn, the storyline is deftly drawn and it's amusing along the way. Recommended to anyone who wants a light read that doesn't insult the brain.
December 15, 2017
A light holiday read filled with a quirky array of characters. Enjoyable although I would've preferred it to remain more focused on a couple of characters and there were various threads left incomplete.
February 2, 2018
A group of flawed but mostly likable characters in a small Kiwi town made this an enjoyable read without setting the world on fire. It was easy to relate to and had a frequent wry sense of humour that I really appreciated.
October 16, 2021
A fun nz novel set in small town coastal environment, rattled along with a complex of characters, young and old, with perceptive local jargon to describe the issues of the various age groups.
All ends well.
All ends well.
March 9, 2024
Entertaining, and lighthearted. However, I found the switches in POV jarring, and at times difficult to follow; possibly because the voice of each seemed so similar. Nevertheless, I cared enough about the characters to read until the end.
April 25, 2018
A great piece of New Zealand fiction. My review is at https://bookbloggernz.blogspot.co.nz/...
March 8, 2019
Great characters. Love each chapter being g from a different perspective. All came together well at the end.
March 19, 2019
Small town setting with the usual quirky characters and clever dialogue (maybe too clever? Not everyone is that articulate) An easy, enjoyable read.
January 20, 2020
A quirky lovely light read, but with many NZ home truths and quirks. Fab holiday read
July 4, 2021
Enjoyable, a variety of interesting characters, looking forward to the next one in the series.
August 13, 2022
3.5 stars. Liked the story and small town setting, will try the next one and see where things go.
April 5, 2023
I didn't enjoy this. Some of the characters were interesting but there were too many of them and the pace was too slow. I found it frustrating.
April 10, 2023
Great story, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews