[.ca] Tapas on the Ramblas (ISBN 1894663977)

Fantastic Getaway:
I was recommended this book by a friend as the perfect book to read while we were on our recent cruise in the Carribean. And was she ever right! What I really appreciated about Bidulka's obvious talent as a writer (I have not read the other books in the series - yet) was that he was never afraid to put his characters in situations that we as readers can only dream about. Thats what I want out of a book - especially one I'm reading while on vacation. I want to escape my reality and be taken into another, wholly, totally and with gumption. I want to be enetertained. And this most definitely is it: a detective gets pulled into a case that takes him from Spain to Italy and along the way he meets odd characters, eats unfamiliar food, sees amazing sights, and has high seas adventure - wonderful, marvelous, terrific.

A Delighful Romp on the Seas:
Tapas on the Ramblas is a delightful Romp on the Seas. There is something really fun about reading a book like this when its cold and snowy outside and the biggest adventure in your life recently was taking out the garbage. In this Russell Quant mystery, we find our detective aboard The Dorothy, a luxury gay cruise leaving from Barcelona heading directly into trouble! There are bad guys and bad lounge acts, exotic ports of call and (from one of my favourite scenes) a flower pot dropped on someone's head (which is a terrific nod to the Christie potboilers of the past which this feels a lot like). This book is at once fun, frivolous, but not for the faint-hearted - there are some truly scary moments. And, for those following the series from book one, Bidulka, thankfully, does not forget to throw us a few clever tie-ins with the regular cast of characters.

Hoorah - A Great PI on Water Mystery:
Playful, fun, engaging, scary, witty, beautiful, evocative, foreign, rompy, sexy, mysterious, interesting. A must read on your next holiday or day off. Take a trip with Russell Quant, PI, you'll enjoy travelling with him.

A Winner! Again!:
Okay - I'm hooked. This, along with the other Russel Quant novels, are thoroughly entertaining, wonderfully witty and funny, and totally engrossing! If he can write them as fast as I read them, I'll be a happy reader! Highly recommended. Anyone making a movie of these wonderful adventures?

What Was He Thinking?:
Bidulka, dispite the chorus of reviews on this page, is at the edge of losing control of his characters and his plot lines. Readers need to be able to suspend disbelief in order to 'go for the ride' and get into the book. Here Bidulka plops characters into the plot without seeming to hear the 'snap' of credibility strained to the breaking point. Without a doubt this book is the worst in the series and, unless some editor reigns him in, Bidulka is going to take a good character and a good series and ruin the franchise with lazy ploting and miraculous appearances of characters - it isn't a 'twist' if it ain't possible.