So on one hand the book is poorly written, in that too much of the plot (the most interesting ‘mystery’ parts) happens off stage. Secondly, the apparent A-plot romance was dull and the characters really uninteresting. However, I appreciated the open-ended ending as that felt slightly less cliched.

However, the side characters? Immaculate. So vivid, you really get to routing for them and it’s fun to get invested in this wee community of old people in the bookshop where very little reading or purchasing of books gets done.

Technical details about Aberdeenshire felt off, such as the description of local buses, but that’s a minor issue.