I really wanted to love this book, the premise was interesting and the character of Madame Burova had such potential but unfortunately it fell a bit short for me. I never really connected with any of the characters so instead of being unable to put it down, I started becoming reluctant to pick it up as I just didn’t care. It may well have been because there were just too many characters over two timelines.
Told in two timelines, one in the 1970’s and centering on opening of a Butlins-like holiday park; the other timeline is contemporary where Billy, recently bereaved and searching for her birth parents. Madame Burova of the title features in both.The start of this book was fairly overwhelming with so many seemingly unconnected characters introduced all at once.I felt that she was using some unusual vocabulary at times, why use sobriquet when nickname would do, and why use libidinous when there are so many common use words having the same meaning (horny, randy etc.). This distracted from the story.
The ending on the other hand was good, it ties up everything and connects things we never knew we needed connecting and meant that I could forgive much that had gone before.
Told in two timelines, one in the 1970’s and centering on opening of a Butlins-like holiday park; the other timeline is contemporary where Billy, recently bereaved and searching for her birth parents. Madame Burova of the title features in both.The start of this book was fairly overwhelming with so many seemingly unconnected characters introduced all at once.I felt that she was using some unusual vocabulary at times, why use sobriquet when nickname would do, and why use libidinous when there are so many common use words having the same meaning (horny, randy etc.). This distracted from the story.
The ending on the other hand was good, it ties up everything and connects things we never knew we needed connecting and meant that I could forgive much that had gone before.