The Flatshare also had less darkness, I think? There were serious elements and the business at the end with the ex-boyfriend but none of it felt heavy like some of the issues in the books that followed. It’s difficult to describe the plot of this book without spoiling it. The story is told from the POV of the three women, so we only see Joseph through their perspective. Siobhan is an ambitious career coach in Dublin, who looks forward to monthly sex dates with Joseph and his magic tongue. She tries to remain guarded, but Joseph’s attentiveness gets under her skin. These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: They’ve all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up – Valentine’s Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they’ve all been stood up by the same man. So, pluses: O’Leary is a funny, engaging writer, and the story was compelling. The three main female characters were likable as were several secondary characters (especially Miranda’s sisters and the friends that Jane does end up making/realizing she had all along in the course of the book). Minuses: the structure of the story and a plot development late in the book.

Prediction: Many patients would re-book or cancel the appointment instead of accepting it and then not attending. We conclude that improved strategies for communications with parents, a flexible appointment system and better communication between the clinical and admin teams resulted in a significant reduction in the no show rate in this busy paediatric neurology clinic. There were also associated benefits of improving access for urgent patients and a reduction in the overall waiting time.Prediction: Patients from the urgent list are likely to come to appointments as they have been referred recently. This will also improve the overall waiting time which will impact on the no-show rate. Three women who seemingly have nothing in common find that they’re involved with the same man in this smart new rom-com by Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare.

Plan: Offer patients an immediate re-book by asking them whether the appointment time is suitable or not. The three romances are on different timelines (the Valentine’s Day no-shows all occur in different years – 2015, 2018 and 2019, IIRC), though the misdirection really tries to make the reader believe that they are simultaneous. For instance there is a scene with heroine #2 directly after a scene with heroine #1 in which heroine #2 finds a receipt for breakfast for two that seems like evidence of cheating – Joseph had had breakfast with heroine #1 in the previous scene. But they actually occur in completely different years and Joseph’s reason for hiding the fact that he wasn’t alone at breakfast has a reasonable explanation. FURTHER SPOILER I gave The Flatshare an A, The Switch a B+ and The Road Trip a B-. Maybe more than other authors, I compare O’Leary’s books to each other, perhaps because I’ve read them in fairly close succession over the past couple of years. The Flatshare is still the gold standard. I probably found The Road Trip a bit more compelling than The No-Show, but it also had hugely problematic character issues that brought the grade down. This book is pretty comparable to The Switch, but because of the problems I’ve mentioned with the plot, I think I’ll give it a straight B. Without giving away the major twist of the book and ruining the whole reader experience, I think it’s important that readers know that only 2 of the 3 women get a romance HEA.It is possible to reduce the no-show rate by implementing changes to the appointment system and patient communication strategies. Prediction: Around 25% of our no show patients failed to attend for the third time. Our appointment system used to offer patients three appointments before discharging them from the service. We found that less than 10% of patients who failed to attend twice, turned up for the third appointment. We predicted that by discharging patients after the second non-attendance we would reduce the no show rate further. The No Showis O’Leary’s savviest book to date (and dare I say her best), and although it’s not quite as ‘cosy’ as The Switch, it’s equally as heartwarming and joyful. Kudos to O’Leary for her meticulous plotting too. This is the most satisfying conclusion I’ve read in a long time and a wonderfully original take on the romance novel. My advice? Go into it blindly, and avoid spoilers because when you get to the plot twist you will launch your book across the room. Ladies and Gentlemen, Her! Aim: To reduce the no show rate for the Pediatric Neurology outpatient clinic at Hamad General Hospital from 49% to 25% by December 31st 2013 (4 months) DiscoDollyDeb: I feel like cutesy illustrated covers are kind of played out at this point anyway. But as I said before, I don’t pay much attention to covers.