The Patterned Flute

I read this in about 2-1/2 hours - basically i turned the tv and lappie off and crawled into bed and read till i was finished. I really enjoyed this - at last a book with people i'd recognise on the street - I really had no idea who the MC (Kate) would hook up with until she actually hooked up with Ms X (don't want to give it away). The characters don't live in impossibly rich houses and have unlimited money - they're ordinary quirky people. Oh and there's bad sex (aka as sex that didn't quite happen) ... "Erm, I'm sorry, I don't think this is going to work." as well as good sex "... our eyes locked together in shocked amazement ... we managed to surprise each other even more by bursting into tears simultaneously and clinging to each other as if we were the last people left on earth." which I found kind of reassuring ... and not overdone. I'm not sure what the blurb on the back of the book means by a very British tale - except that you know how there are differences between American and British tv programs - subtle and not so subtle - this book is like this - the characters and descriptions wouldn't work so well in an American setting - and there are descriptions of places and objects that scream British to me - for example the description of where the MC lives; the description of the borrowed car - i can picture them in my head and put them into the familiar scenes from classic Brit comedies and drama shows I am looking forward to reading the next two in the trilogy (and also a standalone novel) from Ms Shacklady. Characters are believable, flawed and not always nice - just how I like them.

The Patterned Flute is the first in a trilogy of novels featuring clever, funny, fiddle-player Kate Halton and her love interest, the ne'er-do-well but sexy photographer, Liz Sharpe. Well-written, sharply observed, and just general good fun. Not as smooth or as carefully plotted as the two novels which follow it, but well worth the price of admission.