This is the fifth book in the well-spaced series about the humorous adventures of Vicky Bliss, told in her own words.  Ms Peters has managed to update this "caper" series from the type of gothic fiction popular in the early 1970s through romantic suspense, and now this more involved story.

Although it was written over a decade ago in 1995, it even manages to have some topical mentions of terrorism, so no wonder it is having a reprint.  This is no mean feat, and it is carried off very well indeed.  Less praiseworthy is this book’s other concession to modern times — its awesome length.  There are many more pages than there is actual plot and thus it tends to lack suspense, which is hardly a good thing in this type of novel.  Perhaps because it is told in the first person, Ms Peters has had Vicky tell it in what computer gamers would term "real time" with none of the minutiae of daily life omitted.  This does have the added bonus of making it all seem rather real and involving the reader, but largely at the cost of being exciting.  Get back to the taut length of the four earlier novels and this series still has the ability to more than sizzle.