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Winding down
Dec. 22nd, 2022 08:17 pmBook Review: A Nice cup of tea, by Celia Imrie
Looking for something straightforward to read, I came across the third of Imrie's Nice books in the local online library. Having read the previous two I felt I knew the sort of thing I would be getting.
I think in this case it probably does help to have read the previous books. There is a darkness to the introduction - the auction sale of a valuable item goes wrong with legal wrangling, throwing the financial predicament of the four main characters into the spotlight. Imrie incorporates both the Nice terrorist attack of 2016 and the Brexit vote into the background, a nod to an unwelcome reality. Unlike the previous books, I didn't feel overwhelmed by the number of characters; maybe that's because I have become sufficiently familiar with them, or maybe there is a better balance in this regard. The book certainly doesn't lack action; there is plenty going on for all of them, though it wouldn't do much good to take it too seriously. Imrie draws a line on the conclusion; clearly intending to park this series as a trilogy, which is probably the right thing to do; it would become more and more difficult to keep the writing at this level of eventfulness.
Looking for something straightforward to read, I came across the third of Imrie's Nice books in the local online library. Having read the previous two I felt I knew the sort of thing I would be getting.
I think in this case it probably does help to have read the previous books. There is a darkness to the introduction - the auction sale of a valuable item goes wrong with legal wrangling, throwing the financial predicament of the four main characters into the spotlight. Imrie incorporates both the Nice terrorist attack of 2016 and the Brexit vote into the background, a nod to an unwelcome reality. Unlike the previous books, I didn't feel overwhelmed by the number of characters; maybe that's because I have become sufficiently familiar with them, or maybe there is a better balance in this regard. The book certainly doesn't lack action; there is plenty going on for all of them, though it wouldn't do much good to take it too seriously. Imrie draws a line on the conclusion; clearly intending to park this series as a trilogy, which is probably the right thing to do; it would become more and more difficult to keep the writing at this level of eventfulness.