Readers will feel as though they already know Harvey Beam. He’s pretty much every middle-aged white male talkback radio host we’ve ever encountered on air! Harvey travels to his home town to be with his dying father, navigating fraught family relationships, old wounds, landmarks, and the chasm between his present life and what he left behind as a young man. On the face of it, this novel is a ripping good yarn with well-drawn characters, strong narrative and highly relatable experiences, and these factors alone will provide much enjoyment for readers. But Afternoons with Harvey Beam is so much more! The characters are rich and layered and whilst this may be Cox’s first novel, her career as a writer (journalism) is highly evident. The writing is exquisite – with a snappy, succinct and often hilarious turn of phrase, Carrie Cox will have lovers of literature in her thrall.