Something to live for | Richard Roper

Reviewed by him: 20 April 2021

This book is dark, funny and tear-jerking in equal measure and for a first novel Richard Roper has done a cracking job and it’s a solid 4/5 read for me.

Andrew, 42, works for the council, but in a most unusual way, his job is to go to the homes of the deceased and find out if they have any family and any money to pay for a funeral. Being single and estranged from his family Andrew finds kinship in the victims and goes above and beyond his duty and always attends the funerals of these lost and lonely souls, frequently being the only person in attendance apart from the vicar.

Unfortunately due to mishearing a question during his job interview and faking the answer Andrew’s colleagues believe he has a wife and two children and rather than correct them at the time he has let the lie live on. This snowballs when Andrew’s boss wants to take turns at each other’s houses for dinner for some “team building”. The introduction of an easy-going, friendly new colleague, Penny, who he quickly takes a shine to only adds to the trauma Andrew is feeling, but in time it’s the introduction of this energy into his life that enables him to face his demons and work though the skeletons in his closet.

Andrew is a fascinating and brilliantly detailed character and even though some very delicate subject matters are dealt with in the book Richard Roper navigates the minefield with the skill many more seasoned authors may not have done with such ease.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel in a similar vain to the “Rosie” series of books I’m sure many of you will have read.

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