If you haven't read this charming book, do yourself a favor; get a cup of tea and a couple of, as the English say, biscuits (we call them cookies) and curl up & relax with this debut novel by Helen Simonson.

It's an unexpectedly modest book with no vampires, schoolboy wizards or sinister secret societies. What it is is a romantic comedy/love story about a widowed 68-year-old retired British officer who meets a Pakistani widow/shop keeper in the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary. There are several interconnected subplots that explore the complexity beneath the surface of this idyllic little village. Believe me, there are characters that make you both laugh out loud and wince in pain.

I'm now trying to figure out who to cast in a "Merchant/Ivory" type independent film or an episode of Masterpiece Classics. Any ideas??