Much less awful than I anticipated. I loved the fashions, I liked the old geezer who fell and broke his leg (that's hardly a spoiler) and though I felt the urge to throttle both of the twins multiple times, I ended up glad I read the book. I don't much like either Penny or Pam, though. The opening was brilliant, but I didn't think du Jardin sustained that level of acuity of insight throughout. The fashion parts were so much fun.