Northanger Abbey

A pity - after having greatly enjoyed Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl I was curious to see if the other Classic rewrites in a modern context would be as much fun. But Val McDermid stuck to the Austen setup way too rigidly. This is a rather boring tangle of teenage love stories. And hey, a girl who has never been to school and who has never even left Dorset in 2016? The characters are flat and dull. I quit half way through.

1.5 stars. SighEye Roll. I know the original was set in 1807 or something, but I thought this was supposed to be a modern take on the Austen tale. Possible spoilers to follow: The men are all generals, or entrepreneurs or lawyers, the women are.... well, they don't really have jobs, because who needs a job when daddy or a prospective hubby can look after you another eye roll. Cat's obsession with vampires and Twilight really made her seen all the more juvenile and unlikable, and Ellie needs to ‘woman up' (before the epilogue) and get out from under her father's shadow - WHO WONT ALLOW HER TO GO TO SCHOOL!!!. Hmmm - modern tale indeed.