A review by carolynf
The House of Rumour by Jake Arnott

2.0

Yeaaah. Couldn't get more than a quarter in, and that was a slog. The description makes it sound like it is going to be this tightly woven spy story. But it is actually more like a collection of short stories. Every chapter switches narrators. Perspective changes from 1st, to 2nd, to 3rd person, and back again. It is hard to tell exactly what one chapter has to do with the others. Two years ago I probably could have handled this, because I had time to sit and do nothing but read for hours on end. Snatching 10 minutes here and there does not work for this book. Some parts were good - the ones with Ian Fleming and the woman who was apparently the inspiration for Moneypenny. I wish the whole book could have been written in the same way.