I thought I had read only one Lovejoy book, and that it wasn’t this one; but there was an incident with an undercover policewoman here which I definitely remembered reading before, though almost none of the rest of the plot had stayed in my mind.

The plot, for what it’s worth, involves Lovejoy getting embroiled in annd then helping to bust a ring of international criminals by travelling to Paris and Switzerland from his native East Anglia; his supernatural ability to tell real antiques from fakes is a key element of the conspiracy (and makes me wonder if I should classify the Lovejoy books as fantasy rather than non-genre; on a related note I lost count of the number of women who threw themselves at him, another fantasy element).

The question of real v fake in the antique world is central to Lovejoy’s motivation; it is also the author’s excuse for lots of trivia about antiques, most of which I have already forgotten, though the touching story of James Sandy of Laurencekirk, the disabled and bedridden craftsman who created wonderful things, will stay with me.

Anyway, not exactly profound reading, and quite a different tone from the TV series, but entertaining and I think I’ll read a few more.