Shade of Violet

I found this book witty and charming. I fell in love with our protagonist and enjoyed watching her try to overcome the troubles she faced. I really enjoyed this book.

I started reading this book because it is partly set in Belgium and written by a professional writer/editor who lives in Belgium; as another writer/editor resident in that country, I felt an immediate affinity.

I enjoyed reading a book set in a familiar place, but I also found myself increasingly enjoying the book for itself.
It probably qualifies as contemporary, low fantasy, with the fantasy aspect (magical realism) handled lightly, without it dominating the story... let's say it adds 'une certaine légèreté" - and humour - and moves the plot along nicely.

One of the main characters is Maximus Biggs-Dickson, surely, SURELY based on Boris Johnson? Although I imagine Brussels has more than its fair share of regular visitors who are both aspiring political figures AND complete wankers, so he may well be based on an acquaintance of the author. I guess she'll keep that under her hat. The other characters are all considerably more appealing (even the wicked stepmother) than Mr B-D.

Mr B-D is pushing a 'Back to Great Britannia' campaign, purely for egocentric reasons, and a Belgian journalist is plotting his come-uppance. In parallel, the aforementioned wicked stepmother is plotting to get rid of her unwanted stepson. Violet, the eponymous shade, is providing a helping hand, or rather a gentle nudge, so that good prevails over evil.

The two plot lines don't really come together, but it hardly matters. The novel is for entertainment, and succeeds very well. Overall, it's about women taking back control of their lives and punishment for evildoing.

The two main characters, Callum and Erin, are a sweet duo and there's plenty of scope for further adventures. I'd read a sequel, definitely.

It's no doubt clear by now that this Shade of Violet is not high literature. It's a bit of escapist fun. However, it's also well written, well structured and with strong characters. I could well see this author going from strength to strength. In short, it's a good yarn, well written and well worth a read.

This was a lovely read that I really enjoyed. It was well written with a fastpaced story and well developed characters and a good amount of mystery

I thoroughly enjoyed this unusual mystery, particularly the quirkiness of Violet the ghost who finds herself in something of an existential crisis; she doesn’t believe in her own existence. Being of rational mind she has never been able to countenance the idea of ghosts, but here she is and she might as well make herself useful. She wants to use her unique position to have some power and influence, having led a rather timid and uneventful life, Britain is in the grip of the Back to Great Britannia movement, much to the concern of the rest of Europe. Violet wants to investigate and expose young MP Maximus Biggs -Dixon whose brain is as empty as his charm. It seems that those with the least to offer, are blessed with the most unshakeable belief in their own abilities (any resemblance to our own ministers is of course a coincidence). There’s also an awful care home manager whose plans involving her stepson and the inheritance of a large house need disrupting. There are difficult people to investigate here and ideally it needs someone with nothing to lose. Sometimes, being dead can be very convenient. This book had an interesting plot, some very well-drawn characters and a wonderful central figure in Violet. I often found myself smiling while reading. I look forward to seeing how and if this develops into a sequel.