The pleasures of shopping

Emily Prince is not having a good day. Or a good year for that matter. She is the 30-year-old, slightly overweight mother of six-month-old Freddie, struggling with life as a single mother after her husband Duncan (Prince by surname but certainly not by nature) abandoned her, literally holding the baby, two months earlier.

From her humble beginnings in Somerset, Emily had had one major dream her whole life: to move to London, that shopper's mecca of delights, and to raise a family with Duncan in a big, luxurious apartment. At least part of her dream came true. Duncan was given a job opportunity in London and off they went. Unfortunately, when Freddie hit four months, off went Duncan. To Geneva. To set up house with his boss, Heidi.

In Kate Harrison's The Secret Shopper's Revenge, we meet Emily just as she has reached rock-bottom.

While being coerced by snotty sales assistant Marsha to try on a pair of silk pyjamas she does not need, and certainly cannot afford, in a Harrods-like, upmarket store called Garnett's, Freddie manages to spew carrot chunks all over them and the sales assistant demands that she buys them.

While Emily tearfully contemplates the fact that she can barely afford a sleeve, rescue comes in the form of Sandie, Marsha's boss, who saves the day and Emily from bankruptcy.

Emily and Sandy's lives become intrinsically linked after Sandie suffers an equal bout of misfortune and they both meet Italy-born Grazia, the glamorous widow of a famous artist who has now found herself in reduced circumstances and has become a secret shopper to make ends meet. Secret shopping basically entails going undercover in various shops and filming the staff to see whether they are offering a good service or not and then reporting the findings to their superiors. Grazia recruits Emily and Sandie and introduces them - via computer phone so they never get to see his face - to Charlie, the big boss, thus giving the author plenty of chances to play the "Charlie's Angels" card.

The Secret Shopper's Revenge is a typical example of chick lit. Not a genre that is my usual cup of tea, I must admit I did enjoy reading about and chuckling over the trials and tribulations of these three intrepid women. It's basically one of those books which is perfect to read while sunning yourself (don't forget the sun block) at the beach or at the end of a tiring day when all you want to do is relax and switch off.

Obviously, I am not about to give away the ending of the book. Suffice to say that certain people get their come-uppance, while others come out on top. In any case, the book is a sweet look at life and shopping, which most women can identify with, even if they read it simply as a guilty pleasure.

• Ms Borg is a drama teacher at Stagecoach Malta. In her spare time, she treads the boards, writes articles and reads short books.

• A review copy of this title was supplied by ARCO - Allied Retail & Commercial.