Books like Dance With Me

The plot of this book teases and baffles the reader – and impressive though it was, I always have a feeling that such plots come at a price – the let-down when the ending proves mundane or unsatisfactory, or God forbid, someone wakes up and finds it was all a dream. Looking back, I think the author just about gets away with the explanation: it made sense once I had got it straight in my head. And yet it still reminds me of a bubblegum bubble – blown unfeasibly large until you’re dazzled by it, then without warning it pops and ends up all over your face.Leaving all that (and a slightly odd final chapter) to one side, this really is a good read. It’s intelligent, written with bold inventiveness – the Tory MP tied to a chimney can vouch for that – and whatever you think of the ending, I believe it was worth the journey.