Sunny beaches, Dutch cafés, croquets and karaoke: Hendrik Groen’s new novel takes you to the Costa Blanca

Despite decades of marriage, sixty-somethings Theo and Cobie are still enjoying each other’s company and the freedom of retirement. Their best friends Joop and Hannie, however, spend their time together with little else than bickering and complaining. And though the daily rut is a burden for them, great changes are even worse. A week or two with their mobile home to the Veluwe, that’s pretty much the limit of their ambitions.

Until, at the joint Christmas dinner, after an elaborate bout of complaining about the Dutch weather, Cobie seizes the opportunity to talk the four of them into a long stay in Benidorm, to escape the grey Dutch winter months. And if you rent your Dutch home out to expats, you might even make a profit! And that’s the argument that does it: Benidorm, here we come!

At the Spanish Costa Joop immensely enjoys the couleur locale, to his own surprise: the sunny terraces, the Dutch cafés and even the bingo- and karaoke-nights. And, also a good rut antidote, he meets nice new people. Cobie and Theo are having a great time as well. Hannie, on the contrary, feels lonelier every day. Slowly the tension between Hannie and Joop rises. Until it takes just a little push to completely derail their Benidorm holiday.