Calculating Heart

Caper Court #6

by Caro Fraser

As the City stifles under the August heat wave, temptation begins to ensnare the inhabitants of 5 Caper Court. The question is, who will fall captive to its charms and who will be able to resist?

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Caroline Georgiana ("Caro") Fraser was a novelist.

Fraser began her career as an advertising copywriter. She became a commercial and maritime lawyer, and practised until 1992, when she became a full-time writer.

Reviews

[Morag Peers · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a load of tripe. Havent read the others in the series but that shouldn't detract from a novel. Too many characters, all completely one dimensional, cliche upon cliche, very heavy handed attempt to be a serious book by shovelling in some paranoid schizophrenia. Only read it as was stuck on a plane with only the sick bag to read otherwise.

[Maureen Hetzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read all the books in the series to date and by this installment, I finally realize I don't like reading soap operas! Everyone seems promiscuous or to be more accurate serially monogamous. I finally realized I don't care who is next paired with whom so it is adios for me to the inhabitants of chambers. And I still marvel that this series entirely populated by barristers has no real connection to any legal issue for less than a paragraph or two.

[Misty Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very different from the earliest books in the Caper Court series. Caro Fraser's writing and her characters have both matured and in many ways this is rather darker. As always, she leaves the ongoing story on a cliff-hanger, making it imperative to read the next instalment

[Coral Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively and intelligent as always

What a very good writer Caro Fraser is. It is a story of relationships, and one never fails to be interested in their development. And it contains a surprising amount of moral truths.

[Christine Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure soap opera...but great!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just love these books. Only got 2 more left in the series. Can’t wait for the next instalment.

[Clare Barrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK but very poo ending

[Anthea Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, good characters and the relatively unusual setting of a legal chambers. Enjoyed the continuation of the story.

[LindyLouMac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been reading Caro Fraser's Caper Court series since she published the first one 'The Pupil' back in 1992. I believe this is the sixth in the series, each one has been about the same main protagonist Leo Davis.

I have always enjoyed following the lives of the lawyers at Five Caper Court as they appear in each subsequent novel. Leo Davis is a charismatic character and throughout his career seems to manage to escape scandal time and again.

Nothing has changed in this latest novel, Leo is still getting himself into trouble. Although he has of late decided that he is maybe ready to settle down, with one woman, it does not workout. No surprise then as once again he is tempted to stray this time into the arms of an extremely calculating lady.

On the back of the copy of the book I read there is a quote 'Smart, complex and deliciously racy .... the thinking woman's chicklit'. I have to say I agree, nothing brain stretching but a good read. Although I find it more interesting to have read the earlier novels and have got to know the characters it is certainly not a prerequisite to have done so. I will now have to look out for the seventh 'Breath of Corruption' and with an eighth in the pipeline one wonders for how long Caro Fraser will keep this series going. It has already been 18 years!

[Nikki H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m still re-reading, and enjoying, this series one book after another. Time has moved on, and we are now in that period in the early 2000s when mobile phones are in common use, but where a character will then suddenly get out a pen and piece of paper to write down directions to someone’s house! More than in earlier books, the legal backdrop really is just a backdrop to the never-ending roundabout of sexual shenanigans involving the Caper Court barristers and those they know. I confess I am starting to lose track of which women Leo and Anthony have slept with, and in what order. You do wonder whether any of this legal crowd are capable of remaining faithful in a relationship, as here two of them admit to each other to having scruples about that sort of thing … then do it with each other anyway. Leo still has that irritating (to me) ability to make any woman in his bed melt with passion (to put it delicately), regardless of her experience in these matters. Anthony needs a good shake and to be told to extract his head out of his own posterior. Interestingly, in spite of all that she has done to damage other people’s relationships, I found it impossible not to feel considerable sympathy for Sarah after what happens between her and Marcus. As before, though, a disappointing number of spelling errors and typos in my Kindle edition.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm guessing this is intended to be a "House of Cards" type book, where we're meant to be repelled and fascinated by the main character at the same time. He's a devastatingly handsome, self-centred pr!ck who callously uses and discards his lovers (both male and female).

Unfortunately because he irritated me so much, I couldn't get into this book at all. The writing is easy to read so I kept reading, hoping that we'd see Leo get his comeuppance at some point. Finally I skimmed the rest to see what happened, but it wasn't particularly satisfying. Frankly, I found the ending hard to believe, because Leo has all the hallmarks of a psychopath in his relationships (charming, manipulative, no empathy, complete lack of remorse), so it seemed out of character for him to have scruples about a little insurance fraud.

Apart from Leo there was a big cast of characters and the author does a good job of managing them all without leaving the reader confused - but Leo dominates and I disliked him so much, the book didn't work for me.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Fraser has written yet another tale in her "Caper Court" series, about the scandalous goings-on involving the characters of this law firm in London. Loads of sexy fun! I've read the others in this series, & they're all terrific.

[Lisa van Zyl-Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

I always finish books, but this was so dull that I gave up. Have enjoyed Caro Fraser before, but this didn't have me interested at all.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read for the (summer) holidays!