Not sure if it’s a poor translation, or bad writing on the part of Calligarich, but if I ever see the phrase “I was at the end of my tether, truth be told” again, it will be too soon. The characters are awful, which made the supposed depth of feeling between Gavarro and Arianna totally unbelievable, the writing is flat and at times bizarrely repetitive. Page 38 for example: “I really wondered who she was running away from, because there was no doubt about it, she was trying to get the hell out, to escape. I wondered who from.” Page 102: “Why didn’t she drop it, she knew perfectly well what had happened. ‘Drop it,’ I said, ‘you know perfectly well what happened.” Arrgghhh! Not one I would recommend.