Told in the first person narrative, this is a tale of Englishman Thomas sebastian, a very inept criminal who flees 1960s England for Mallorca in the wake of his creditors and falls in love with his Italian neighbour, Isabella.

He moves into the villa of the recently deceased Senyor Rodriguez, whose estate is left as if awaitng its owners return at any moment. Sebastian finds some unpublished manuscripts and decides to pass them off as his own - and this is where things become a little ... shall we say ... interesting.

A very curious tale with a twist at the end that is not evident at all in the narration.

One of the best books I have read this year. Funny and sad it is a mystery set in fifties Majorca. I loved the period setting and unfolding story. Would make a great film..

I just could not get into this, I think it was trying too hard. Probably would find an audience with older men.

The road to Hell…

The narrator is a piteous, no-good, rascal, a buttoned-up Englishman who has stolen his wife’s money, fled to Spain and is squandering it on wine and women while attempting to extricate himself from the road to inevitable ruin. The setting is a villa on a Spanish island in the early 1960s. The previous resident of the villa had come to a mysterious and scandalous end before the start of the novel. There are elements of Lolita here; there are passages which are very funny, others which are bitter-sweet, others which make the reader cringe. I can imagine a 1960s film starring Lance Percival or perhaps Terry-Thomas. So far, so good.

The final chapters of the book take the reader into completely surprising and unexpected territory – I am unconvinced how successfully. Perhaps the ending sacrifices plausibility in its cleverness, but I certainly didn’t see it coming.

A delightful book set in the mid-60's in Majorca. A down-on-his-luck Englishman comes to the island with a stolen car and the keys to a villa owned by the mysterious Senior Rodriquez.

Sebastian, the Englishman takes on more and more of the villa owner's character as time goes on.

Ending with a twist, the book is fun of humor and great characters. I loved it.

Afraid I could not finish this story, It was not my cup of tea. This is a personal opinion and I am sure many others would enjoy this book.

*I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

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At first glance, it seems that this is going to be a story about a man on the run who finds love in his new home and lives happily ever after...not so.

Thomas Sebastian is a man on the run. On the run from his wife, crimes committed, and as revealed in the story, himself. He seeks refuse in a rich man’s estate and soon finds himself succumbing to the demons he’s tried so hard to avoid.
Mr. Sebastian is a highly functioning alcoholic; as hard as he tries, he can’t seem to give up the drink, even going so far as to drink wine from the dead man’s private cellar stores. Thomas’s affinity for wine and his willingness to tell lies gets him into some sticky situations. He has adopted the deceased Rodriguez’s persona as his own and has 2 women he’s into on the hook.

Overall, I think the tale was an interesting take on the typical man-on-the-run narrative but the ending was very confusing. There were so many things that appeared and were wrapped rather hastily and didn’t make sense.

This is a book that you will either love or hate. It is an intriguing and ambitious story of mystery and history. The pace of the story is steady with memorable characters. If you are in a mood for something slow, this is your book.

Read It Twice

MILD GENERAL SPOILERS. For the first 92% of this book, (thank you Kindle), this is an entertaining middle-age male picaresque, with only a few hints here and there of any character shifting funny business. But when we hit chapter XXII the book shifts into overdrive, overwhelms the reader with plot, character and setting reveals, and drives to a breathless and head spinning conclusion that begs the reader to go back and skim through again from the beginning to search for overlooked hints and feints.

Lots of times it's not worth it to plow through an entire book just to get to a snappy end. But this book is more like a two-fer. Upfront we get a witty, wry, and atmospheric tale of a middle aged failure on the run. My interest in our hero ebbed and flowed, but he was a fascinating mess, and who doesn't like to see personal drama being played out by a charming conman on a sunny, but subtly menacing, seaside? You could easily read and enjoy this just as an escapade, a developing potential menage drama, or even a Lolita-lite infatuation tale. There are lots of amusing observations, and set scenes, to keep you occupied.

Viewed this way, the tricksy ending is a pure bonus, and readers who love or hate plot/character sleight of hand can take or leave it. I was flummoxed at first until I thought it through, and immediately paged back through the book to confirm my suspicions. Heck, I may have totally misunderstood the ending, but I'm still happy.

So, this is sophisticated, literate fun that disguises itself as a romantic/caper beach read, and then takes the reader for a stroll along the cliff's edge. What a nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)