The Handover By David M Barnett

‘The Handover’ is the latest book by David M. Barnett.

Daisy is the night security guard at the Manchester Museum of Social History. She takes her job very seriously, protecting the museum from teenage troublemakers. Nate works the day shift, though he’d be more suited as a museum guide the way he chats with the visitors. Daisy doesn’t approve: how does he find it so easy to talk to strangers? For five minutes each day their shifts overlap at handover. He passes the torch over to Daisy – always with a smile on his face, and she asks him for a full report of the day, which he gives reluctantly. It’s the only interaction they have… until mysterious things begin to happen at the museum. They soon discover they have a lot more in common than they realised… and their investigations uncover more than just the truth. Could they have feelings for one another?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Written through a dual narrative, the story reflects on how as little as 5 minutes can make a difference to a person’s life.

Daisy is an interesting character, she regards herself as complicated from a childhood trauma and feels that she is not deserved of true happiness and that her mother’s terminal cancer is punishment for her behaviour. Labelled Crazy Daisy Dukes, she’s at her happiest patrolling the museum and putting together her daily report, even though it is never read. She’s quite awkward and stand offish with people which makes her appear cold but she has a huge heart and she lives in fear of hurting people.

Nate is a happy go lucky fellow, who’s trying to provide a good life for his young son. He’s trying to move on with his life since his divorce and is trying to get himself out there, but he’s drawn to Daisy and sees something in her that no one else sees including Daisy.

This story is quite the tearjerker battling issues as alcoholism, terminal illness as well as abuse, so it is quite hard hitting in parts. But for all the tender and emotional moments, David has included some humour to help the reader recover from the twists and reveals. I particularly Derek, the owner of the local takeaway who constantly on the edge of infringement with his Derek Domino’s business selling Big Macs.

A tender story about love, new beginnings and unexpected love, ‘The Handover’ is a sweetly written story that really captured my heart.

You can buy ‘The Handover’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.