This is a light-hearted, humorous look at family relationships and the world of politics.

Young MP Gregory Buchanan has been elevated to the Minister for Education and is facing an election when he shows his wife a painting he recently commissioned of himself. His excitement is soon overshadowed by his wife’s disapproval and dismay. She is in PR and realizes that the portrait of him fully nude will do him no favours. His mother-in-law, a Christian zealot is horrified and his mother is not keen. Throw in the female premier’s disapproval and you have quite a situation particularly after the painting is stolen.

I enjoyed the characters particularly the gin and tonic toting mother and the Christian die hard mother-in-law. The dynamics between these two made for some laugh out loud moments. In fact, I imagined this book as a play with sharp-witted repartee between the main players being the hapless Gregory, his wife and the two mothers together with his sister and the premier. Being the only male character, Gregory is constantly on the back foot and when the artist who is also female threatens him, we have an interesting twist.

I found some of the dialogue repartee, a little laboured and repetitive at times as the two major scenes were in the Buchanan’s house with the same characters. Apart from this it is a short read with enjoyable twists which likened it a little to an episode of Yes Minister. A fun read which many will enjoy.