I picked this up at a library sale recently. Having read it during a pregnancy many years ago, I wondered if it held up. Sort of, it is a diversion, a spy novel of the old sort, with charming characters, about the drug trade in the 1950's. MacInnes is a lady writer of the old school, whose idea of roughness hasn't a patch on what you read in modern novels. Honestly, some days that appeals. In my life, people really do deal with one another with a certain basic decency. Perhaps that means my life lacks gritty reality, beyond what cruches underfoot before I vacuum. Wouldn't this be a life preference for most of the world's population? A MacInness novel lacks grit, but its heroes have character and she offers as much suspense as her style allows. She does write well and is amusing in a lady-like way. Of course, given the span of time, her books read like historical fiction and are amusing in unexpected ways on that account. As I said, a diversion and a light one.
All Helen MacInnes books are fun, excellent period pieces and North From Rome is no exception. Bill Lammiter is a playwrite who gets caught up in skullduggery while searching for an ex-girl friend in Rome. It's the small guy taking a stand against the forces of chaos and doing his best to cope in a situation that is beyond his realm of expertise.Through no fault of its own though, I can't help but compare this story to another book set in Italy (Ride A Pale Horse)Ride a Pale Horse which I liked even better. But don't give this one a miss, especially not now that it is available in e.
