The Real Liddy James

By: Anne-Marie Casey

Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

"Smart and funny.... Liddy will resonate for readers who love strong, mature women with a bit of Irish fire, as with fans of Cecelia Ahern and Marian Keyes and Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette." (Booklist)

A witty and captivating novel about a modern-day superwoman who leans in so far she falls over.

Forty-four, fit, and fabulous, Liddy James is one of New York's top divorce attorneys, a best-selling author, and a mother of two. Armed with a ruthless reputation and a capsule wardrobe, she glides through the courtrooms and salons of the Manhattan elite with ease. What's her secret? Liddy will tell you: "I don't do guilt!"

This is the last thing literature professor Peter James wants to hear. Devastated by his divorce from Liddy six years earlier, the two have a tangled history his new partner, Rose, is only just sorting out. But Rose is a patient woman with faith in a well-timed miracle, and she's determined to be sympathetic to Peter's plight. Together, Liddy, Peter, and Rose have formed a modern family to raise Liddy and Peter's truculent teen and Liddy's darling, if fatherless, six-year-old.

But when Rose announces she's pregnant, Liddy's nanny takes flight, the bill for a roof repair looms, and a high-profile divorce case becomes too personal, Liddy realizes her days as a guilt-free woman might be over. Following a catastrophic prime-time TV interview, she carts her sons back to Ireland to retrace their family's history. But marooned in the Celtic countryside, things are still far from simple, and Liddy will have to come to terms with much more than a stormy neighbor and an unorthodox wedding if she ever hopes to rediscover the real Liddy James.

Fun, fearless, and full of heart, The Real Liddy James takes a fresh look at the balancing act every family performs. With the deft characterization and sharp wit that made her first novel an international best seller, Anne-Marie Casey invites us into the ambitions, passions, and misadventures of this extraordinary heroine.

"Witty, clever, elegantly-written, fascinating and wise. I ADORED." (Marian Keyes, internationally best-selling author)

"Whip-smart and crackling with energy...had me stopping nearly every page to read paragraphs out loud to anyone who would listen. A true delight!" (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times best-selling author)

©2016 Anne-Marie Casey (P)2016 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[The Real Liddy James] is an energetic novel; Liddy's self-deprecating humor makes for chuckles in even the toughest situations. And while Liddy is clearly the protagonist, other characters have interesting triumphs and tribulations as well.... Liddy is a memorable character who could easily appear again as The New and Improved Liddy James in Casey's next novel. Let's hope so.” (Kirkus Reviews)

"Rife with drama both in and out of the courtroom, infidelity, and more, The Real Liddy James is perfect for fans of women’s fiction with a dose of travel and a strong - and sometimes flailing - female lead." (Library Journal)

“Liddy's manic success, fueled as much by fear of failure as by ambition, offers rich potential for both humor and sympathy. Readers will enjoy spending time in her tumultuous company ... [and] will be rooting for this human manifestation of drive and blind determination to stop leaning in and start breathing in. And out. Slowly.” (Publishers Weekly)