Operation Nassau by Dorothy Dunnett

 Operation Nassau 

by Dorothy Dunnett

Operation Nassau by Dorothy Dunnett was published on 6th July by Farrago and is book four in The Dolly Mysteries. My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

Doctor B. McRannoch is in the Bahamas with her father who has moved there from Scotland because of asthma. She is a savvy and tough young woman who shows much independence of mind and spirit.

However, when Sir Bart Edgecome, a British agent who has been poisoned with arsenic falls ill on his way back from New York, she becomes involved in a series of events beyond her wildest imagination.

Drawn into an espionage plot with multiple suspects, it is only the presence of enigmatic portrait painter Johnson Johnson on his yacht, Dolly, that saves the day. But nothing is quite as straightforward as it at first seems.


** PRAISE FOR THE DOLLY SERIES ***

The Dolly novels are… delicious, funny, ingenious, glamorous, clever.’ Listener

‘Dunnett tempts her fans with buried clues and red herrings that keep them reading and rereading the books.’ New York Times

‘[Dunnett’s] women are among her strongest characters.’ Guardian

My Review

This is book four in The Dolly Mysteries and was originally titled Dolly and the Doctor Bird when it was first published in 1971.

The first thing  for me to say is that you have to appreciate that it was written over fifty years ago and the humour and attitude was a lot different then . If you have not come across it before it may take you a while to get into the book without getting a trifle irate at times. However, for those fans of Dolly, it is not going to disappoint though I would recommend that you read the previous books first and in order.

The Johnson Johnson mysteries are funny, as is this one, though there are times when DrB McRannoch and her father and friends are a little strange, so to speak. Whether this is to do with when the book was first  written and the attitude at the time I cannot decide, however as the story and the poisonings and threats progress Dr B McRannoch mellows and , to me at least, becomes more likeable with a witty sense of humour.

So enjoy the location of the islands within the Bahamas with an exceptional cast of characters , including Turkish Dancers and Japanese Golfers, revel in the wide variety of upper class exotic food they are eating and accept that some of the language and attitudes dates back to the late 1960s.

About the Author

Dorothy Dunnett (1923-2001) gained an international reputation as a writer of historical fiction.

She later turned to crime writing with the acclaimed Dolly books, aka the Johnson Johnson series.

She was a trustee of the National Library of Scotland, and a board member of the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

In 1992 she was awarded an OBE for her services to literature.

A leading light in the Scottish arts world and a renaissance woman, Dunnett was also a professional portrait painter and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy on many occasions.