Molly's Millions

by Victoria Connelly

[Leah]

Molly Bailey’s life is trundling along fine until one day she decides to buy herself a lottery ticket and ends up winning £4.2 million. Trouble is, Molly doesn’t want £4.2 million and sets off around the country distributing it as and when she feels like it. Journalist Tom MacKenzie is worried he’s about to end up on the journalistic scrap-heap when he happens upon Molly’s story. He sets off, with daughter Flora, on a wild goose chase to try and find Molly. As Molly continues around the country not only does she have Tom hot on her heels but also her family – the three Bailey Men along with Carolyn, Marty’s wife, who are famed for their tightness. Will Molly be caught before her millions run out?

I hadn’t really heard of Molly’s Millions until I saw a few reviews popping up on various sites. It soon peaked my interest and I wanted to read it so badly as it sounded fantastic. I finally got my hands on a copy, thanks to Allison & Busy, and I started it in earnest. I finished it in two days and have to say I absolutely adored Molly’s Millions. It’s a book that will make even the hardened pessimist smile.

The book starts just before Molly’s lottery win. She’s actually struggling to pay for her shopping when we first meet her. I could feel her embarrassment as she stood at the head of the queue wondering what to get rid of and I instantly liked Molly. She then, inevitably, wins the lottery and I loved how quick she was to decide that she wanted to get rid of it. As Molly heads off around the country distributing her wealth along with her dog Fizz and trusty Beetle Old Faithful, Tom MacKenzie comes into the picture. From then on it’s a wild goose chase as everybody tries to find the elusive Molly. It was told in third-person so we got everybody’s perspective. We have Molly, ambling down the country giving her money away, Tom who is wildly trying to find Molly along with his daughter Flora and we have the Bailey Men, Old Bailey himself, Magnus and Marty, grandfather, father and brother to Molly along with Carolyn, Marty’s husband, desperately trying to find Molly also. It was an incredibly clever plot and seeing it from all angles gave it an interesting perspective. On the one hand I wanted Molly to succeed in her mission and the Bailey men to fail in theirs but on the other hand I was desperate for Tom to find Molly.

All of the characters are fantastic. Molly is just so incredibly nice it’s hard to not like her. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with the money once she’d one so she was also incredibly headstrong. She did, unwittingly, manage to make herself the most sought-after woman in the country which was highly amusing as she had no idea. Molly just wanted to distribute the money and be a good person and wasn’t concerned with all of the press attention. Maybe calling Molly nice isn’t the best adjective to use but that’s what she was. Nice. I actually quite liked Tom MacKenzie, what he did wasn’t particularly nice, tailing Molly and invading her privacy like that but that’s what his job was. He definitely seemed to have some hidden depths and I really liked him. I loved his daughter Flora and I thought she seemed quite like Molly although a younger version. The relationship between Tom and Flora was fantastic and I enjoyed picking up their thread of the story. The Bailey Men were all incredibly mean. How such tightfisted men could have raised Molly is beyond words. It was like they were a world apart. I did like Carolyn however and she perked up their parts of the story.

Molly’s Millions is incredibly well written and I enjoyed whizzing through it immensely. Connelly really has a writers touch and I’m so surprised this is her only book published in English (she has three others all published in German, which is a shame for me as I don’t speak it!). There are a few minor plots in the story as well as that of Molly’s millions and there are some things we learn as the story progresses that surprised me a little bit. I really enjoyed Molly’s journey down the country and I can’t believe how quickly I flew through the book.

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Molly’s Millions as it truly is an outstanding read. It’s a light read, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just so incredibly enjoyable you’ll wonder where you’re day has gone once you get started. It really did make me smile.