Moroccan Traffic by Dorothy Dunnett - #bookreview #blogtour

 

'Bifocal spectacles!' shouted my mother, coughing heavily over her daisy-wheel printer. 'Now my daughter wastes her time on some self-employed painter with no index-linked company pension?'

The dog in the next house began barking.

I took off and hung up my coat. This is my welcome, arriving bombed-out from my office. I yelled, 'He paid for my lunch. He fed me better than you do.' I have strong, healthy lungs. I don't know where I could have got them from...

***

Upwardly mobile and smart Wendy Helmann, Executive Secretary, is in Marrakesh with her mother while her boss, Chairman of Kingsley Conglomerates, conducts very delicate if slightly dubious takeover negotiations.

Morocco is a romantic place, but Wendy finds herself side-tracked from its attractions by the antics of Rita Geddes and a few peripheral problems such as kidnapping, explosions, industrial espionage, murder and car chases across the High Atlas mountains . . . Enter Johnson Johnson and his yacht, Dolly.

***

Moroccan Traffic is the seventh book in the Dolly Series. The first book which introduces the character Johnson Johnson is A Tropical Issue.

The book is set in the titular Morocco during the 1980's and is a lovely setting for the book. It is atmospheric and it was easy to get a feel of the surroundings in which the characters are placed.

The novel had a dry wit and was humourous at times which I always appreciate in a crime book. However, it had enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested, along with a handful of red herrings. 

The writing had a quaint, somewhat old fashioned feel to it which made for nice, comfortable reading. It was easy to get caught up in the plot and I felt swept along for the ride. However Wendy, the main character in this book was often confused by what was going on, and consequently I felt that confusion with along with her. I can only assume that this was the authors intention.

I did not find any of the characters easy to identify with. This is quite likely because I have come into the series on this final book. I think I would have warmed to them more if I had read the background on the recurring characters in the previous books.

That said, mystery lovers will enjoy this book.

ISBN: 978 1788424219

Publisher:  Farrago

No. of Pages:  304 (paperback)

About the Author:

Dorothy Dunnett (1923-2001) gained an international reputation as a writer of historical fiction. She later turned to crime writing with the acclaimed Dolly books, aka the Johnson Johnson series. She was a trustee of the National Library of Scotland, and a board member of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In 1992 she was awarded an OBW for her services to literature. A leading light in the Scottish arts world and a renaissance woman, Dunnett was also a professional portrait painter and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy on many occasions.

(book and media courtesy of Random Things Tours)

(all opinions are my own)