A "can't put it down" read
Thinking this would be "cozy" type mystery, I settled down for a light evening read of "Unruly Passions". I was surprised and delighted to discover a sensitively drawn portrayal of a variety of characters, all of whom were multi-dimensional. At times, the reader can play with books as if they contain blocks instead of characters, interchanging them at will since they are lacklustre. Not so here. Ms. Charles has a village, the Vicar and his wife, the female Archdeacon and her husband and the village newcomer: wealthy potboiler writer and femme fatale. Anything anticipated as deja vu from this seemingly banal mixture will be totally different from the reader's expectation. As carefully as a microsurgeon's delvings, the writer delicately examines in surprising fashion the reverberations of passions which become unruly. There is a mystery twist, but it rides tandem with the denouement and resolution of the story. Sorry when the last page had to be turned.