It Should Have Been You - Andrea Mara

48%

06.04.26

A very silly story that depended too much on coincidences, miscommunications and misunderstandings, with only its Irish setting to lend it some interest.

Quartet in Autumn - Barbara Pym

 

62%

27.06.21

This late Barbara Pym novel is as sharp and occasionally as funny as her earlier ones, but it's shot through with the poignancy not only of the regrets of old age but also of relentlessly changing times. 

Finlay Donovan is Killing It - Elle Cosimano

 

57%

27.03.21

This was unusual in being pretty well written and edited, with a great premise, but a narrative structure that just fell flat. It was fun but would have been far more entertaining if Finlay Donovan was actually killing something.

Recipe for a Perfect Wife - Karma Brown

55%
28.04.20

I don't really know what to make of this. On the one hand, it was an appealing two-day read with an interesting premise. On the other, the story depended on the protagonists' unrealistically irrational behaviour. Why do contemporary novels feature such unlikable women with whom we are expected to empathise? The ending of both narratives was decidedly iffy and heavy-handed. And, of course, it needed a decent edit, but what book doesn't these days?

The House Swap - Rebecca Fleet

47%
12.04.20

'Dead-on domestic noir' is the only quote on the cover that is remotely accurate. It's a case study in the stock features of the genre: an unexciting plot driven by unlikable characters, unrelatable behaviour and unlikely situations.

The Return of Norah Wells - Virginia Macgregor

51%
07.03.20

This is sometimes called 'The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells' and that would have been a better title, as the lack of realistic reactions by sympathetic characters is indeed astonishing. It's hard to be engaged when nothing rings true.

Crampton Hodnet - Barbara Pym

64%
19.05.19

Perhaps not one of Pym's best novels, but still arch and wry and perceptive and occasionally laugh-out-loud - and it's amazing how so many self-proclaimed humorous writers aren't any of those things.