The first half of the book felt as if it had been written by someone who was forced to write protesting that he had nothing to write about. I have read most of Kerr's books and liked them very much but this one, at least the first half, twists so much around insignificant content that one wonders why the author is writing at all.

The second half picks up and feels more like getting down to real business but is an honest novel at best.