Scarlett Thomas has a very clear, enjoyable writing style that lends itself well to the mystery genre. Her characters are interesting and complicated, her stories are tricky (in the end), but easy to follow. A joy from start to finish and recommended even to those who don't usually dip into the mystery genre, as I myself do not, except for this series. I've read almost all of Thomas's oeuvre (everything except "Mr. Y"), and I'd recommend any of them to anybody. I just find her books straight-out enjoyable.
smart and witty
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This first of three Lily Pascale mysteries is (how can I resist?) dead clever. Young Lily leaves her cheating boyfriend and dead-end London bartending job for some R and R in her small hometown in Devon where she promptly lands the perfect part-time job teaching crime fiction at the local university. Except one of her students has been gruesomely murdered. And some of the others are acting peculiar. And her new romantic interest comes under suspicion. Then the student who saw the whole thing (as we know, but Lily doesn't) seems to be going crazy.Lily begins asking questions and before she knows it, she's investigating, withholding evidence and generally digging a deep hole she's only going to climb out of by solving the crime, a murder or two and a few close calls later. The plot gets a little wobbly but keeps moving, the characters are well drawn, the setting is lovingly rendered and the writing is crisp, fast-paced and humorous - though not quite as smart as it starts out to be. A promising beginning for a hip young protagonist.
Great fun!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
Lily Pascale is a great new character. She's brash, funny, opinionated, and she doesn't let anyone else get her down. I like the fact that she strikes out on her own. She's got more brains than Bridget Jones! This book is alot of fun and a must read! I can't wait for the next book in the series.
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