Having read a lot of Campbell’s work before, I thought I knew what to expect—action, mystery, a classic male-angled adventure. But this book surprised me in the best way. It’s softer, more emotionally in tune, and honestly feels like it was written with a female audience in mind—and I LOVED that.

There are a lot of American movie references (hello When Harry Met Sally), and while that might not work for everyone, I found it quirky and endearing. It gave the story charm and heart that made it stand out from Campbell’s usual fare.

I've read several of Colin Campbell's other books and enjoyed them. I did not enjoy this one.

I'm a little puzzled who the publisher thinks this book will appeal to. It's generally positioned as an action-adventure-mystery with the typical degree of male appeal, but the narrative actually turns out to be squishy and far more female in appeal, almost at times lurching over into pure French farce. The constant references to American movies, particularly 'When Harry Met Sally,' didn't help. At first, they were mildly tiresome, like listening to your twelve-year-old daughter trying to explain something in terms that mean something to an adolescent, but when those references just kept coming and coming and coming, they became downright tedious and annoying.

Reading and enjoying fiction is almost entirely a matter of personal taste. The core narrative in this book simply didn't appeal to me in the slightest, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad book. It just wasn't for me.