The Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

The Seven Days of Us By Francesca Hornak
Published by Berkley ISBN 9780451488756
Hardcover, $26, 368 pages

Many of us spent the holidays surrounded by family. It's enjoyable to spend times with loved ones, but what if you were quarantined with them for seven days? That is the premise of British writer Francesca Hornak's novel The Seven Days of Us.

Emma is delighted that her eldest daughter Olivia will be returning home for the first Christmas in a long time. Olivia has been volunteering as a doctor in Liberia, working to help people dying of Haag, a disease similar to Ebola. Olivia is the reason the family must be quarantined at Emma's ancestral family home.

Emma wants everything to be perfect for Christmas. From the food to the decorations to the gifts, she has attended to every small detail.

Her husband Andrew used to be a war correspondent but he left that for a safer, more boring job as a restaurant critic. Younger daughter Phoebe is engaged to George, who comes from a respectable family.

And everyone has a secret. Olivia has been hiding her relationship with a fellow doctor from everyone. Waiting out seven days to make sure neither of them has Haag is stressing her out. Emma is hiding her own health crisis from everyone, not wanting to ruin Christmas. Andrew received a mysterious letter from a young man that he hides from everyone.

Phoebe is obsessed with having the perfect wedding, and Olivia finds her obsession shallow. (I admit to finding Phoebe a bit of a selfish brat.) Olivia obsessively refreshes the news on her IPAd browser, looking for information on the Haag crisis. She has trouble readjusting to life at home.

Andrew appears to hate any kind of conflict, and for someone who used to be a war correspondent, he seems kind of useless. He has a special relationship with Phoebe, taking her along on his restaurant trips, but he should have more in common with Olivia.

 Along with secrets, there are coincidental meetings that come back into play later in the story creating complications.

The Seven Days of Us would be a wonderful Christmas movie, there is so much here for everyone who has a family to enjoy. I most identified with Emma, naturally, and there are even some terrific passages for the foodie fan (Emma is a wonderful cook and at one time considered opening up a catering business).