Thoughts

I've read a couple of Deborah Moggach's books before and thought they were okay, they're usually not quite what I expect and it's always nice to be surprised.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a surprise in the negative sense and I wasn't able to finish the book. I got about a third of the way through and I kept wanting to give it another chance, another go, but eventually gave in to the inevitable.

The concept seemed pretty interesting. A girl who needs money decides on a unique way of getting some - by marrying someone with the right surname to give her the initials that will allow her to commit fraud with business cheques. A bit convoluted but possible.

The trouble with this book is that no-one is relatable or seemingly worth following. Natalie is a grubby protagonist. I don't know if I want to sympathise with a character whose first choice is to flash the mechanic in order to pay by installments. She didn't even consider any other forms of payment.

It's not just Natalie, either, the whole thing left me with a bad taste in my mouth. This section, after she meets a new potential mate, is just a bit gross:

"If snakes have problems in shedding their skin, administer a lukewarm bath for several hours..." That night, Colin sloughed off his past. It lay there, an empty skin. He stepped out of it, into a new life.

I'm not a big fan of snakes anyway, and this skin-shedding alongside the idea of bathing a snake, it's all just a bit much for me.

I've no problem engaging with characters who aren't squeaky clean. The Sweetpea books are wonderful and that's about a psychopathic serial killer. This one just wasn't fun, felt quite mean, and made me shudder, so I'm glad I gave up when I did. If there had been a small pinch of warmth in anyone, I might have been able to carry on, but these are characters I'm happy to forget.

I'm not, however, put off Deborah Moggach books, so will be more than happy to try the next one I pick up.

DNF

Rating: Unrated