OK, it took me months to get through this book, but that wasn't because I wasn't enjoying it.
As I trudged along, I tried to figure out why it was taking so long.

In the end, I think it is because it is written in first person, as told by an upper-crust British fop. I loved how witty every sentence was, but what that means is that I had to carefully read and process every. Single. Word. Every sentence was a Britishism worth deciphering, but that took time. And, truth be told, made it take a minute to figure out, sometimes, what exactly was going on.

Clearly there are more antics planned for Spencer and Monty.

Infernal Relations is one of only a handful of books I've DNF'd over the years.

It's not a bad book, but the writing style is very deliberately stylised in a way that it'll appeal to some and irritate the sin out of others.

Regrettably, I fall in the latter..

There's probably a good book in here somewhere but when the writing itself gets in the way of the rest of the the book, it's a hard one to sell.

If you're interested in requesting this book, check out some of the other reviews and make your own informed opinion, but for me, this is a book that relies on humour and a certain level of appreciation for its quirks. Neither appealed to me unfortunately.

Page one of this book starts off with a whimsical take on that most perplexing of English pastimes – cricket! – and immediately I wondered if this might be too parochial for me, but I needn’t have worried. I mean, it is very British, but never in a way that shuts out non-Brits in any way. It helps of course if you’re an Anglophile, which I am, so for me this was a hoot pretty much from start to finish. The interplay between Spencer and Monty is really what seals it for me, and it never lets up. Well, maybe briefly during their ill-fated expedition when Monty’s infatuation with Natalia gets the better of him. It takes a while to get to the meat of the story, but getting there is good fun and I never guessed where it was taking me. All round, a very funny book.

This is a multidimensional book. It begins almost like a campus novel fusing together a cast of vibrant characters with wonderful repartee, but where Lucky Jim was a droll send up of academia, this is a different beast altogether that, it has to be said, delivers much more in the way of genuine guffaw moments throughout. Not least in a dance sequence that had me in stitches. We’re not steeped in the institution walls very long before the central figures are roped into an equestrian mission into the woods and it’s here that we’re plunged into something of a comi-adventurous romp, as seen through the eyes of black sheep of the family, Spencer, our narrator. Meanwhile his cousin, Monty, who in my opinion ranks as one of the truly brilliant comic literary creations, without realising it embroils himself in a criminal charge of something unthinkable. To give away the central premise would be a tragedy, so I won’t do that, but it’s a deft piece of comic plotting. The ensuing final third also delivers some quite nail-biting suspense and crime caper elements as the police are hot on Monty’s tail, so this really is a novel of multiple parts. I’m happy to say, though, that they all come together wonderfully.

This must be the most laugh-out-loud book I've read in a while and it achieves this feat with some aplomb. At the heart, I think, is its brilliant comic timing, which reads almost like a play at times. I usually approach comic novels with trepidation, mostly because I often find myself wincing at the crassness of the humour, but not so here. This doesn’t have an expletive in sight. Here, innocent misunderstandings between endearing dimwits are usually what gives rise to hilarity and it’s a pure joy to read.

Spencer and Monty are beckoned back to their home town of Winsbrook as the new academic season gets underway at Lockwood Institute, a retreat-cum-educational facility in the English shires, where the gentry happily offload their youth for a spell.

In CH5 we learn that Spencer and Monty discover that the reason they’ve been summoned back is to escort two VIPs – a Brigadier and his daughter Natalia – an expedition. It really grips when the expedition party embark on their journey into the forests in search of a mysterious creature. Tensions fray and, as they say, the plot thickens to set up quite a suspenseful roller-coaster of mystery and comedy building to a denouement with a twist that, I admit, I didn’t see coming.

The characterisation, plot and humour are all well-judged and the prose is elegant. The opening chapters take their time, but because the writing is good and the characters are wonderful company, this is no bad thing.

Really good fun.