A review by finesilkflower
The Sirens Sang of Murder by Sarah Caudwell
4.0
This might just be the best Hilary Tamar mystery, certain rivaling #1. (See my thoughts on the series as a whole in my review for book #1, [b:Thus Was Adonis Murdered|234327|Thus Was Adonis Murdered (Hilary Tamar, #1)|Sarah Caudwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1325063408l/234327._SY75_.jpg|1092711].) The hero this time is Michael Cantrip, the goofiest member of the group of young lawyers and the only one who speaks in slang. You'd think it would be hard to maintain his voice through long sections of the book, since it's so different from the way the narrative is usually written (both Julia and Selena write in a similar style to Hilary Tamar's inner voice), but it actually turns out to work and be utterly delightful. The contrast between Hilary Tamar's high-falutin style and Cantrip's casual voice provides much needed balance. It's also a fun twist, emblematic of the time, that instead of letters he writes excessively long Telex messages.
Like "Adonis," this book is not afraid to get deep into the dense weeds of tax law, and it's not afraid to be excessively horny. I love it, on both points. Cantrip is sent to the Channel Islands to work on a trust settlement and gets drawn into the world of tax havens. While there, he crushes on a glamorous investment banker as well as getting cheeky with a chummy fellow lawyer. Although this is the first book with large sections from the point of view of a man who is interested in women, somehow it still feels extremely female gaze-y and always feels like he is cheerfully letting himself be pursued instead of doing the pursuing.
Like "Adonis," this book is not afraid to get deep into the dense weeds of tax law, and it's not afraid to be excessively horny. I love it, on both points. Cantrip is sent to the Channel Islands to work on a trust settlement and gets drawn into the world of tax havens. While there, he crushes on a glamorous investment banker as well as getting cheeky with a chummy fellow lawyer. Although this is the first book with large sections from the point of view of a man who is interested in women, somehow it still feels extremely female gaze-y and always feels like he is cheerfully letting himself be pursued instead of doing the pursuing.