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debjazzergal's review against another edition
4.0
Very silly, but lots of fun. If you want a light hearted read, this is a good choice.
ashleylm's review against another edition
3.0
Fun, silly, perfect for late night bedtime reading when my brain can't fully engage. (If I was rating the book with regards to that capacity, 5 stars! But I don't want to misleadingly put it in Middlemarch range, just because it's a fun light read.
I've been warned that these books are silly by my bookseller, but the author knows they are silly (which is quite a different feeling from unintentionally silly), and of course one's tolerance for intentional silliness varies. Some of it gets a bit wearying (the constant supposedly posh slang that I assume is entirely invented), but other bits were delightful (at one point, faced with quite a pickle of a cliffhanger, the author begins the next chapter with something like "after getting out of that, Blotto and Twinks continued on their way ..." (I'm paraphrasing) which I thought was perfect, an authorial equivalent of Indiana Jones' shooting his way out of a tense stand-off.
I was alarmed at some startling Chinese stereotyping, until it turned out it was actual Chinese stereotyping as a plot point in the book--hard to explain without spoilers, but it's fine once you realise what's happening.
And I'll happily read the next one. So a high 3 from me.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
I've been warned that these books are silly by my bookseller, but the author knows they are silly (which is quite a different feeling from unintentionally silly), and of course one's tolerance for intentional silliness varies. Some of it gets a bit wearying (the constant supposedly posh slang that I assume is entirely invented), but other bits were delightful (at one point, faced with quite a pickle of a cliffhanger, the author begins the next chapter with something like "after getting out of that, Blotto and Twinks continued on their way ..." (I'm paraphrasing) which I thought was perfect, an authorial equivalent of Indiana Jones' shooting his way out of a tense stand-off.
I was alarmed at some startling Chinese stereotyping, until it turned out it was actual Chinese stereotyping as a plot point in the book--hard to explain without spoilers, but it's fine once you realise what's happening.
And I'll happily read the next one. So a high 3 from me.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
jonathanrobert's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lydiasigwarth's review against another edition
4.0
Book 20 of 52
Quick easy read full of lovely satire and a beautifully utterly unbelievable story line with over-done characters. So much fun to read for the fan of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse in me. Also helped somewhat fill the Downton Abbey shaped hole in my life.
Quick easy read full of lovely satire and a beautifully utterly unbelievable story line with over-done characters. So much fun to read for the fan of Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse in me. Also helped somewhat fill the Downton Abbey shaped hole in my life.
mkschoen's review against another edition
1.0
Disappointing. I love Brett, and I love Charles Paris (I enjoy the Fethering series, but not as much as Charles). But this was unreadable. Clearly trying to take off of Wodehouse etc., but not succeeding.
jmeston's review against another edition
I couldn't hack the expositiony beginning. A PGW tribute deserves more verve!
eleneariel's review against another edition
2.0
This is a bad imitation of Wodehouse, and I can only believe that readers who like Simon Brett are just sadly unaware that Wodehouse exists. They should be informed immediately. And someone should inform Brett that throwing around a lot of made-up words doesn't make one clever.
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