Split Code by Dorothy Dunnett

Here’s another humdinger of a funny crime novel by Dorothy Dunnett! I have enjoyed every book in the Dolly series so far. Split Code, the sixth in a series of seven, may be my favourite.

Each of Dunnett’s Dolly novels is narrated by a different strong, talented young woman who has to fight a crime. Dolly is a luxurious yacht owned by Johnson Johnson, a world-renowned portrait painter and yachtsman who doubles as a British secret agent. The most remarkable feature about JJ is the bifocal glasses which emphasise his enigmatic appearance. Although he is very wealthy, JJ wears jumpers and ties knitted by an uncle.

In Split Code the narrator is Joanna Emerson, a graduate of the world’s finest college of Nursery Nurses. No sooner is she engaged as a nanny to Benedict, newly born heir to a vast cosmetic fortune, than she is caught up in a complex kidnap plot. But JJ is close at hand, and he understands the dangerous game Joanna is playing. Before long, bullets are flying.

What I like most about Split Code is the account of Joanna’s career as a top-flight professional nanny. She describes play dates with other nannies, the uniform she is proud to wear and the day-to-day lives of her wealthy employers. This novel was first published in 1976, so it is a window into the past. However, I suspect the basics of life as a nanny have not changed in fifty years.

Joanna’s affection for her charge shines through the dramatic accounts of attempted abductions. She is completely focused on the needs of vulnerable three-month-old Benedict. This makes the tension and excitement of Dunnett’s plot very powerful.

Thank you, Farrago Books and Random Things Tours, for giving me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.