Artistic Licence

Thea Orville is exhausted. It is only the persistence of her friend Molly that persuades her to abandon the student lodgings she owns and runs, to go on an Art Appreciation course in Provence. There, Thea meets Rory, a charismatic struggling artist similarly distrustful of life. When the course finishes, Thea is reluctant to return to her student-ravaged house and is enticed to County Mayo in Southern Ireland by Rory. Smitten by the landscape and the discovery of Rory's outstanding new work, Thea rediscovers her passion for life while politely dismissing his amorous advances. She resolves to set up a gallery back in Cheltenham to show off his brilliant work. The remaining plot revolves around whether Thea will manage to show Rory's work and whether she will get it together with Ben, art dealer and scarred ex-husband and father, or succumb to Rory's advances. Like all Fforde's novels, this one is competent and enjoyable, with an appealing heroine and memorable supporting cast. But it feels rushed: the opening is hurried and implausible and several key plot developments are skimmed over. Why does Ben suddenly propose to Thea having previously displayed an inordinate lack of interest? Why does Petal, the adolescent lodger, so conveniently fail to pass on messages? And the characters are just too conveniently written: Veronica, Ben's ex-wife, is two-dimensional and obvious, and Rory a little too dashing and easily swayed. Fforde's many fans will still enjoy it, and with some reason, but an extra few months on the writing schedule might have enabled Fforde to make this novel as satisfying as its predecessors. (Kirkus UK)