Blog Tour: Moroccan Traffic – Dorothy Dunnett

Upwardly mobile and smart Wendy Helmann, Executive Secretary, is in Marrakesh with her mother while her boss, Chairman of Kingsley Conglomerates, conducts very delicate if slightly dubious takeover negotiations.

But while Morocco is a romantic place, Wendy finds herself side-tracked from its attractions by the antics of Rita Geddes and a few peripheral problems such as kidnapping, explosions, industrial espionage, murder and car chases across the High Atlas mountains . . . Enter Johnson Johnson and his yacht Dolly.

Dorothy Dunnett (1923-2001) gained an international reputation as a writer of historical fiction. She later turned to crime writing with the acclaimed Dolly books, aka the Johnson Johnson series. She was a trustee of the National Library of Scotland, and a board member of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In 1992 she was awarded an OBE for her services to literature. A leading light in the Scottish arts world and a renaissance woman, Dunnett was also a professional portrait painter and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy on many occasions.

My thoughts: the final Dolly book, and it brings the return of Rita Geddes from the first book – Tropical Issue – but now she’s the head of a large corporation and not a make up artist. Whose company is the target of a hostile takeover. But first there’s total chaos, with kidnappings, car chases and other crazy things.

Secretary Wendy Helmann, and her crazy mother, who might actually be a spy or something, are in town too, to assist with the takeover, until they get dragged into the nuttiness. It might be Johnson Johnson’s most outrageous outing yet.

Packed with references to the previous books in the series, this is a hilarious, totally over the top and delightful read.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.