One again this proved to be a quick easy read although some of the subjects were not in keeping with the quick easy read status. I do enjoy the charicatures that Rebecca Shaw introduced, for instance Jimbo's mother in this novel. The main characters were given storylines but some of the main characters from previous novels in the series were barely mentioned. A tricky balancing act, which I thing Shaw achieves better in the Barleybridge novels personally.

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This features, as do others in the series, the fictional village of Turnham Malpas and its residents. I'm never entirely sure why I continue reading these books, which I find from time to time in charity shops. The characterisation is flat - with so many characters I can't possibly keep track, even with the synopsis in the front - and the many subplots are like a soap opera in a book.

But when I spot one I don't have already, I pick them up, always wondering if they are going to get more interesting. I do quite like following the lives of Peter, the Rector, and his doctor wife Caroline. They are responsible for the one scene in this that I found quite moving; if the books were written from their perspective alone rather than dotting around the whole population of the village, I think I'd find them more enjoyable.

But they pass the time. This was no better or worse than any of the others I have read by this author.
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