Things Can Only Get Better cover art

Things Can Only Get Better

An absolutely heartwarming and uplifting read

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Things Can Only Get Better

By: David M. Barnett
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

From the internationally bestselling author of Calling Major Tom

For elderly churchwarden Arthur Calderbank, there's no place like home. His home just so happens to be a graveyard.

He keeps himself to himself, gets on with his job, and visits his wife everyday for a chat. When one day he finds someone else has been to see his wife - and has left flowers on her grave - he is determined to solve the mystery of who and why. He receives unlikely help from a group of teenage girls determined to break out of the poverty trap by emulating their Britpop heroes and forming a band, and as Arthur and the girls try to find answers, he soon learns that there is more to life than being surrounded by death.

Set when we were all common people and things could only get better, this is an uplifting story about the power of a little kindness, friendship and community, for readers who enjoy Sue Townsend, Ruth Hogan and Joanna Cannon.

©2019 David M. Barnett (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Women's Fiction Feel-Good Uplifting Reads

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Critic reviews

"I loved it. Nostalgic without being saccharine, hopeful, real characters with edge. A brilliant book." (Hayley Webster)

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Totally fell in love with this book. Well drawn characters, superbly narrated and a lovely message without being too twee or cringey. perfect.

An absolute belter of a book

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Charming, funny, heartbreaking and quintessentially northern - a brilliant combination for a novel (and it comes with a ‘90’s playlist). I bloody loved it.

Absolutely brilliant!

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It took me a little while to settle into the story but the character development was good and story developed well. It’s an uplifting tale that’s well worth a listen and performed well

Worth a listen and uplifting

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I’d already read this book, but thoroughly enjoyed the audio version. The story is of unlikely friendships and courage against a backdrop of the issues of the 1990’s, issues that are still relevant today, some unexpectedly so. Narration by David Thorpe was brilliant, bringing to life the variety of characters and capturing personalities very well.

Fantastic

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Took me back to the 90's and beyond, and perfectly narrated by David Thorpe. Enjoy!

Delightful!

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I loved this book from start to finish. The storyline isn’t predictable and the narration is excellent. I would recommend this book to any age from 16 - 100. A beautiful, all round book that reminds you that kindness is free and goes a long way.

Heart warming

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I rarely pre-order books. Look I have no idea of my finances from one day to the next , never mind if I’ll have £3.99 in my current account in six months time.

But I pre-ordered Things Can Only Get Better on Kindle and on Audible.

Purely on the basis that David M Barnett’s last two books, Calling Major Tom and the Growing Pains of Jennifer Ebert are among my all time favourites.

The wait has been agonising.

Was it worth it?

Things Can Only Get Better is his best book to date.

Barnett is the Stephen King of poignant.

His books, and this one in particular have an air of sadness and melancholy. Based in everyday experiences and emotions that the reader can fully understand and have experienced themselves. Barnett’s writing feels real. There is no better for way for me to describe it.

This sadness and melancholy is tempered with real laugh out loud humour and maybe more importantly and certainly more unusual for the books I usually read; Hope.

No other author I have ever read conveys as much beauty in regards to human relationships as Barnett.

He makes you ache for his characters, he makes you fall in love with them and really care about the events they find themselves in.

Set in the 90’s, the nostalgia for the decade I spent as a teenager, after reading this is palpable. I want to buy the clothes I had, I want to listen to the music I listened to and watch the TV watched. If my wife is reading this, I definitely do not want to date the girls I dated. Barnett took me back wholesale to the 90’s with this with his subtle weaving of pop culture references throughout the book allowing you to piece together exactly when it’s set, like a trivia nerds dream jigsaw puzzle.

That said, it’s a book very much rooted in the Britain of today and the lessons that can be learned are 100 percent relevant right now. I wish I could airdrop a copy of this book into every household before the general election.

It has it’s own soundtrack. No really. David M. Barnett compiled on one Spotify just for this novel, but even without it the book has its own track listing that plays in your head while you read it.

Things Can Only Get Better is a love story, its a mystery novel; it contains heartbreaking and completely unexpected war stories. It’s a beautiful, beautiful book about redemption and second chances. It made me laugh, it made me genuinely cry sitting in traffic, but mostly it made me impatient for the authors next book. If you see a title with David M. Barnett on the cover? Buy it you are in for a treat.

David Thorpe's performance in this audiobook is just amazing, it makes a brilliant book, even better.

Barnett is the Stephen King of Poignant

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An easy listen, with some likeable rogues as the main characters. David Thorpe was very good & evidently enjoyed recording this novel!

Enthusiastic Narrator!

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