Finding Margo [Kindle Edition]

Susanne O'Leary (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When Margo misreads the map while travelling through France, her husband Alan flies into a rage. Tired of his constant bad moods, Margo walks out on him in the middle of the motorway, into the French contryside. She hitches a lift with a woman truck driver and what follow are adventures and romance far beyond her wildest dreams.. Will Alan find her before she finds herself?

THIS VERSION WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN PAPERBACK BY NEW ISLAND BOOKS (and thus professionally edited and proofread by them).

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 377 KB
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0037UY6BO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,927 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I write contemporary fiction, chick lit, historical fiction and, recently, crime. Several different genres with one common denominator; the theme of escape. This theme is often about the protagonists stepping out of their lives into a whole new environment. The fact that I spent most of my adult life travelling around the world is also strong element in my stories, which are set in foreign places.


I started writing by accident. About twelve years ago, when I was living in Brussels, I was asked to write down some health and exercise tips for the fitness group I was running (I am also a trained fitness teacher) . To my surprise, this eventually resulted in a book. It took me around six month to finish it. 'Look Great, Feel Great for Life', was published in the spring of 1999. By that time, I was already writing my second health book, dealing with healthy aging. 'The Life in Your Years' came out in 2000.

When I had handed in the finished manuscript for 'The Life in Your Years' I felt a sense of achievement that was quickly replaced by a huge loss. I had become hooked on writing and needed to write more. I mentioned this to my editor at Gill&Macmillan and she said: 'why don't you write a fun novel about your life as the wife of a diplomat? I'm sure you have many funny incidents worth telling.' This sparked the first ideas for the novel that was to become 'Diplomatic Incidents', which was published by Blackstaff Press in 2001. After the success of this novel, I was asked to write a second one on the same theme; a tongue in cheek story set behind the scenes of the European Union. The title for this book was easy to find. 'European Affairs' was published in 2003.

With my subsequent novel, I left the world of politics and decided to try a different approach. I used what I now call the 'what if' moment. I happened to be in the Alps on a skiing trip and the very first 'what if' moment popped into my head. What if a group of skiers gets snowed into their chalet during a blizzard? What will they do? Who gets eaten first? This idea was eventually turned into 'Fresh Powder', described in the Irish Independent as 'Agatha Christie meets Mills&Boon on a James Bond set'. It became Eason's book of the month when it came out in March 2006.

A year later, I found myself in a motorway café in the middle of France, having had a bit of a problem with the map, which didn't amuse my spouse. I thought: what if a woman walks out on her husband on the motorway in the middle of France after a row about her map reading skills? And what if that woman keeps walking and takes on a whole new identity? The idea was developed into a novel. 'Finding Margo' was published in May 2007.

The idea for, 'Swedish for Beginners', came from my own feelings of confusion about my roots. Having left my native Sweden at the age of twenty one and traveled the world most of my adult life, I often wonder where I really belong. I do love living in Ireland but the place where you grew up is really where your roots are. I wanted to explore this dilemma which so many people struggle with these days. The feedback from readers has confirmed that I am not alone in experiencing it. Writing this novel was a very emotional journey for me, as many of the people and settings are drawn from my own family and my childhood home in Sweden. It is not all sweetness and light. A reviewer in the Irish Independent said: 'it reminds one a little of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.'

My historical novel, 'A Woman's Place' was inspired by the life stories of my great aunt Julia and her daughter Sonja, who both led fascinating lives, which I found out by reading letters and diaries I found in my grandmother's chest of drawers.

The detective story, 'Virtual Strangers' that I wrote with fellow Swedish author Ola Zaltin, came about after a chance meeting on a writer's website.

My husband and I moved to Tipperary rather by accident. We had bought our house as a holiday home but when my husband left the diplomatic service, we found that Dublin no longer appealed to us. The beauty and peace of the countryside of south Tipperary was irresistible. My husband is a keen gardener and, although we had been admiring the mountains lazily for years, we are now actively climbing them on our regular hill walks.

My writing day is rather undisciplined and drives my husband crazy. I usually start early in the morning and try to fit the housework in between my writing sessions, writing being the more important occupation. When inspiration strikes, the Hoover is often standing neglected in the middle of the living room and my husband is in the door of my office, asking politely if he is going to be fed or should he send out for pizza?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Read, September 6, 2010

By 

Tina Carignan (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Margo (Kindle Edition)

Finding Margo left me so frustrated with the character, in a good way though. In the beginning pages, Margo would react one way to her circumstances, when I wanted her to react another. The author wrote Finding Margo in such a way that one quickly becomes vested in Margo's life. Margo's husband is a verbally abusive swine that you just want to slap him into the next century.

Margo leaves her husband on the motorway when his verbal abuse reaches new heights.

The people that she encounters along the way are richly drawn giving the reader secondary characters that move the story along.

Finding Margo is Susanne O'Learys second book that I have read, the first was Swedish For Beginners which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. Thank you Susanne, I look forward to reading Fresh Powder next.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Convincing characters, beautiful settings, well written, September 26, 2010

By 

jstmgn (SE coastal NC, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Margo (Kindle Edition)

"Finding Margo" by Susanne O'Leary tells the story of a woman who had already made and accepted the choices that would determine her path. Suddenly, during a road trip in France, she is slapped in the face when one of those choices -- her sophisticated doctor husband -- shows his true, dark colors. Now, Margo must decide what she really wants -- and does not want -- in her life.

On her own in Paris, and abandoning all she has expected and accepted in the past, Margo faces a string of obstacles -- friends, mates, class structure, long-hidden family dynamics -- in discovering her new self.

To the last moment, you wonder whether Margo has in fact redirected her destiny, or if she has instead repopulated the original script. Will she realize her original choices in life were the right fit for her, or has she broken the chains that bind one to an undeviating course? You may think you see the ending but, sadly or not, the new Margo will surprise you.

The characters in "Finding Margo" are beautifully created and possess familiar and believable personalities. These people evolve in realistic and sometimes unexpected directions, a credit to Susanne O'Leary's ability to understand and portray the complexity of real-life personalities. Add in the author's Parisian city and French countryside backdrops, and you find yourself pausing to savor the scenes of this created world but feeling compelled to continue on Margo's journey -- just not too quickly please; make it last.

Susanne O'Leary has a smooth, flowing and unrestrained writing style. She has written "Finding Margo" with a playful and energetic touch, yet with a depth suitable to the eternal quandary of how one chooses to live life.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mid-life Coming of Age Story, September 11, 2010

By 

BigAl (With Carmen Sandiego) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Margo (Kindle Edition)

Some may think it as a strange claim, but I see "Finding Margo" as a coming-of-age story. Margo's emotionally abusive and controlling husband and her efforts to please him have in many ways stilted her growth into adulthood. When she reaches her breaking point and leaves him while in a foreign country she has no plan - she just has to escape. What follows is Margo "finding herself" in all the ways that cliché implies. Margo learns to take care of herself, stand up for herself, and make decisions for herself, all against a cultural backdrop as foreign to Margo as it will be for most readers. An excellent read.