Rivenhall's little sister comes down with a fever that might be typhus. Sophy rises to the occasion, while Charles's betrothed won't come near the place. Charles finds out about Sophy's "saving" of Hubert and admires her. Nice scene in which he does insult her and she cries, then pretends that the tears were fake and called on demand. Other than that, the predictable plot winds its way forward. I think, actually, that the entirely predictable nature of the plot is one of the reasons for the books enduring popularity and its high rating on Goodreads. It's a comfortable read--a cozy romance. All the characters are clear, likable, despicable, irresponsible, solid. Nobody surprises anyone. We, as readers, are like the author. We know where this is going. We watch the characters come out of the darkness into the light, rubbing their eyes. "How foolish--why didn't they see all that earlier." Reader is easily smug.
Weakest. Tommy is in prison. His son, Ryan, is now 17. Catherine the cop's sister, Clare, takes Ryan to visit Tommy in prison, without telling Catherine. Not good. Sisters have a break when Catherine finds out. Plot two: PE teacher, abusive to wife. She is getting drugs from local Indian/Pakistani pharmacist. Husband finds out and has wife arrested! Pharmacist worried . . . plots to kill husband. Wife agrees, then changes her mind. Pharmacist in a rage kills her. (All a bit of a stretch, as he is a mild mannered family man.) Tommy escapes from his court hearing, hides out, gets in touch with Ryan. Plan is to go to Marabella, Spain together. Tommy's "helpers" get worried about Tommy and decide to do him in. Instead, he kills them . . . and is knifed himself. He returns to Catherine's house, looks through a photo album showing Catherine took good care of Ryan, and decides not to kill her....
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