Received from Librarything's April 2013 Early Reviewer's batch

Michael Pinfold has returned to Maderia after an unsuccessful trip to England to sell some of his wins stock. It's post WWI, Pinfold is an ex-soldier and the family business is on it's last legs. His father is a flamboyant old stage entertainer, who spends most of his time in bed, being looked after by a very tolerant Goan man-servant.

On the boat back to Maderia, Pinfold falls in with two other ex-soldiers, and being rather british finds it difficult to extract himself from the two, even though none of them have much money between them. Also on the boat is a Mrs Christie, a writer of "children's stories" (she's rumoured to have written a novel called "Mysterious Fairy Styles" - netter known as The Mysterious Affair at Styles). Staying at one of the posher hotels on the island is one George Bernard Shaw, who in an attempt at a little privacy, has taken to introducing himself as Sonny, and has started taking Tango lessons. Meanwhile there is correspondance between GBS and various writers and fans, and a short play GBS has written at the request of one of his publishers

Meanwhile, an Englishman called Robinson is found dead, with a knife wound in the back. He is believed to have just come off the boat with the others, and only one passenger seems to know who he is. One of Michael's friends, Johnny, who introduces himself as "a diplomat" but who everyone suspects to be secret service, is back in Maderia to look after Emperor Karl (the next in line to ArchDuke Ferdinand) pulls Michael into the investigations.

Slightly farcical, in that much of what happens is based on gossip and assumptions and some outright lies. People do not accept that Michael does not know Robinson basing much on what is reported in the paper - the journalist is known to be an outright liar. Meanwhile, Michael is manipulated by Circumstance, Johnny, and a host of other characters to become involved in the investigation of Robinson's death and the attempted kidnapping of the Emperor off the island. The story ends sharply, with plenty of loose ends left behind of what happened to many of the characters

Michael is also somewhat of a unreliable narrator. He is sleeping with Johnny's wife (getting her pregnant in the process), he steals from all and sundry, but generally returns all but the money he steals to the original owner. More than one person dies in the story, some he has known for years, but is somewhat emotionally disconnected from the deaths. There is plenty of references to the Tango and how some of the characters dance it. The last part of the play, which finished the book went on too long, and I have to admit I skimmed it. I possibly missed a couple of metaphor, but to be honest, it was beginning to drag by this point and I lost interest. ( )

I could not really decide whether I liked this book or not. The descriptions of the island were good and atmospheric, as was the period setting in the 1920s. But somehow the story and the characters did not really grab me and it was a bit of a struggle to finish it. As some other reviewers have said it is difficult to put a finger on why it does not really work as well as it might. ( )

Like watching a beautiful piece of clockwork through a glass case. You can appreciate the elegance and intricacy of what it's doing, but with little understanding of what the piece is or for what purpose it does all this. The author's own afterword suggests he has as little idea as the rest of us – the refreshing honesty of which certainly made me feel less of a thickie. ( )

I liked the settings and the characters, but somehow I didn't end up liking the novel in itself very much. It is a kind of mystery-novel, but without the darkness and suspense that I had hoped for. However, it was a light and easy read, and in the end, somewhat entertaining. And I liked the many literary references. ( )

I'm not quite sure what to make of this novel, which I'd received as part of the Early Reviewers program. It's ostensibly a mystery but it's mostly an exploration of a character in a particular period of time. In this case, the setting is post-WWI Madeira which the author describes wonderfully. The protagonist is a likable fellow despite his many faults. He comes across as a scoundrel, not above lying to and cheating his friends, but he is also humble and cares for those close to him, in his way. Fictionalized versions of well-known personalities, such as George Bernard Shaw and Agatha Christie, play significant roles in the story. ( )