Rumpole’s Return by John Mortimer

The Blurb On The Back:

Horace Rumpole is supposedly enjoying his well-earned retirement, basking in the Florida sunshine. But a colleague’s casual request for advice on a difficult case sends him hurriedly back across the Atlantic. Leaving retirement far behind, the irreverent and claret-swilling Rumpole soon finds himself facing a fanatical religious cult, a mysterious letter written in blood, and the Pornographer-in-Chief to the fair town of Grimble.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

John Mortimer’s third Rumpole book (published in 1980 and based on a one-off TV special) sees a more insecure, downcast Rumpole who’s doubting his abilities after a string of failed cases. It’s interesting to see him failing to adjust to retired life in Miami and the saddest parts are when he fails to understand Nick’s desire to try and get closer to him. I didn’t believe in his idealism during the pornography case, especially when he’s given such an obvious way to win and the religious cult is overegged, but I loved his boyish glee at wanting to get stuck into the Simpson case and the Machiavellian way he manipulates the ego of his colleagues in Chambers. Ultimately, this was another entertaining read and I will definitely be checking out the other books.

Purity by Jackson Pearce

The Blurb On The Back:

The promises are the most important thing to me.

I have to find a loophole.

I’ve got to find a way to keep both Promises, no matter what it costs me.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jackson Pearce’s YA sex comedy is told in a breezy, light style and has some interesting points to make about grief and loss of faith. However, the central premise simply doesn’t work – specifically Shelby keeps insisting that she has to obey her father when the promise was actually to listen to him. I could have believed in that had there been at least an acknowledgement of the fact that listening to someone doesn’t mean having to obey them but this doesn’t come up, which is particularly irritating given that the whole plot revolves around her having to find a loophole to escape pledging her virginity. This is a shame because I actually liked the way Pearce writes about virginity and sex and the fact that girls are allowed to like it and want it without being slut-shamed and I liked the idea of a sex comedy from a girl’s perspective. However, the failure of the premise coupled with a predictable ending meant that while it’s an okay read, it is a deeply flawed one and it’s only due to Pearce’s easy writing style that I was able to finish it.

PURITY was released in the United Kingdom on 6th March 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.