by Stella Perrott (Author)

a Book review by Jackie Houchin

  DRIVING MISTER CRAZY (a takeoff on the movie, Driving Miss Daisy) is a story about a English widow with nursing skills and patience beyond that of Job’s, who is on her way to live with her children in Australia, but must spend a year in England until her Visa arrives. (She was born & raised in Zimbawbwe.) She applies for a care-giver job (“carer” in the UK) and is assigned to the most grotchity, beligerant, bad-tempered, old invalid man possible: Mr. Ernest Hazey. In the years since his stroke not a single care-giver has been able to stay with him more than a week. Some leave the same day they arrive.

Jane Ellis experiences the man’s beligerance the hour she arrives and almost leaves, but decides to stick it out for the day. She is instructed to drive his Bently automobile to the cemetary and to a restaurant. She’s never driven a Bently or any automatic car!  He refuses to wear a seat belt and begins with the oft-repeated but seldom true phrase, “I know the way.”  Disaster on day one.

His sweet-then-Satanic roller-coaster disposition and the long hours (8:00am to after midnight) wear her out, but a stange compassion grows on her.  That and the handsome, single, Dr. Bower who visits the man weekly (then almost daily).

The daily grind would be enough for me after one week, but Jane sticks it out for the long months, with only a 4-day weekend off every three weeks.  A growing attraction with the doctor is at once happy and sad. For he has no intention of ever leaving England, and Jane has every intention to leave for Austraila at the end of the year. The romantic push and pull keep the tension high. The disasters and near-deadly accidents with Mr. Hazey also ramp up the suspense.

There is also Mr.Hazey’s hidden (and maybe very dangerous) past to discover, and a surprise, maybe even haunted secret garden to explore.  I pitied the women who took care of the old man to his last days and cheered on the “impossible” romance.  The awesome ending left me with a feel-good lump in my throat and glassy eyes.

I enjoyed the book a lot. Stella Perrott’s writing is easy to read and fun. It is obviously a self-published book, but don’t judge it by that.

FOUR STARS