On one hand, this is a nice, uplifting, light-hearted feel-good read. It's nothing demanding and has a bit of a mystery as a woman teams up with retired Tarot reader Madame Burova to discover her birth parents, alongside a cast of heart-warming characters. And that's where I start to like this less - characters appear then disappear for huge chunks of the book and it's hard to keep track of the connections between them.
In the afterword Hogan states she wanted to address the sexism and racism of the 70's in this - which makes it baffling why sexual harrassment was reduced to a 'Carry On Girls' style subplot, with no real relevance to the main plot. Scenes with treasure and his experience of racism were more powerful, but again brushed aside only to be resolved in a 'but it all turned out okay in the end' unsatisfying way.
Sure to appeal to Hogan fans, and on face value this is a lovely book, but scratch the surface and it's all a bit lacking in punch.
In the afterword Hogan states she wanted to address the sexism and racism of the 70's in this - which makes it baffling why sexual harrassment was reduced to a 'Carry On Girls' style subplot, with no real relevance to the main plot. Scenes with treasure and his experience of racism were more powerful, but again brushed aside only to be resolved in a 'but it all turned out okay in the end' unsatisfying way.
Sure to appeal to Hogan fans, and on face value this is a lovely book, but scratch the surface and it's all a bit lacking in punch.