Blue, blistering, blasted blazes this was too damn long! I've enjoyed every book in the series up til this one. Didn't care for the story jumping between the war period and the 1960s. I want more of the good Doc and the people of Ballybucklebo, not flashbacks to other locations.

I'm less enthusiastic about this title. While I found the parts in Ballybucklebo delightful, some of the flashbacks to his naval service were dry as dust.

Story was just as good as that found in the rest of the series. However, the detail about warships, etc. was hard for me to follow and seemed to get in the way of the story. Some people would love all the detail. I did not.

I continue to really enjoy this series -- Fingal now at war, learning his new duties. Dierdre onshore and the wedding still in the future. I really appreciate the depiction of life on the Warspite -- I had a headmaster who served as a gunner in WWII and suffered both hearing loss and lame leg because of it. This book gave me a new perspective on what his experience might have been like. Pretty awe-inspiring. One of the things about this series that I find completely fascinating is hearing more about the sexual realities of the various times that it's set in -- as a modern person, it's hard to imagine -- how did people deal with lack of contraception? How far did the "proper" folks go? Very interesting to see how that plays out, and I thought the sojourn in Alexandria with the swinging set was an interesting addition, if very uncomfortable to listen to.

Fingal and Dierdre's story at last. I enjoyed it very much, not least because whiner Barry is back to his old whiny ways, worried that Sue won't come back from France. I expect he will be taking center stage again soon, and I dread the day. Trouble with the new doctor is on the horizon, which makes sense, given the reformation of both Fitzpatrick and Bertie Bishop -- what shenanigans can occur, with those two out of commission?

Good, but the war part lost me, with all the details of the fighting.

Not for me.

It just keeps getting better and better!

Fingal's experiences in WWII and during the 1960's intermixed.