Jemima Shore, TV investigative journalist and presenter, is asked by her old convent school to look into the somewhat dodgy death of one of the nuns. Secrets emerge about wills, land deals and so on which may threaten the existence of the convent, and more skulduggery ensues as Jemima gets closer to the truth.
Antonia Fraser writes well (of course) and sets this mystery in a community of nuns and their pupils which is quite well drawn, if somewhat rose-tinted given what we now know about some convent education. However, I found Jemima Shore an insipid character and her narrative voice rather dull and uninspiring. The plot creaked pretty badly, with some obvious answers to “mysterious” goings on, some very hackneyed suspense which didn’t convince, an absurd confrontation with the villain (who speaks like a ridiculous caricature of a slimy villain) and an ending which is wholly predictable in its convenience.
I did finish the book, but I was glad to get to the end and probably won’t be going back for more. I can’t recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment