I feel like I have to be careful here because a friend recommended this book, but I really can't give it more than 2 stars. It was an okay, readable page turner but that's about the best I can say.I was annoyed in the beginning that the Land sisters' names all ended in "ia" (Olivia, Julia, Amelia, and Sylvia). I pegged Sylvia for the murderer fairly early (altho I did not think it was an accident, I figured it would be because Sylvia was trying to protect her from Victor's wandering hands). I found most of the language trite and cute-sy (when Atkinson was trying to be insightful or poetic as in: "He had come here more or less by accident, following a girlfriend and staying for a wife. For years, he had thought about moving back north, but he knew he never would. There was nothing there for him, just bad memories and a past he could never undo."). I found the fact that all of the clients were interconnected (Binky is the witch to the Lands, Tanya ends up living with Theo) too simplistic and not believable (Cambridge, after all, is a fairly big city). I found Jackson's ability to solve all of these crimes simply ludicrous and the added drama of Quintus's attempt to kill Jackson just unnecessary.
It was an okay read, but nothing special.