Peter Mayle, acclaimed author of ‘A Dog’s Life’, entralls his readers once more with ‘Anything Considered’. In a desperate attempt to earn some money to ensure his continued stay in St Martin in France, Benito Luciano, decides to advertise himself in the newspapers.

“Single Englishman seeks jobs. Speaks fluently in several languages, anything considered except marriage”.

He draws the attention of a multi-millionaire Julian Poe who wishes him to impersonate himself to live in Monaco so that he could evade the taxes, ‘a bit of harmless deception’ which would do both them good, as Poe had put it. Unfortunately, things aren’t as simple as both had hoped. In no time, Benito becomes deeply entrenched in a plot to lay hands on this secret serum to grow truffles, enabling its owner to control the truffle market, which would be tonnes more financially-rewarding than the oil market.

It’s an exciting read, which makes one loathe to put the book aside after embarking on the adventure (which accounts for why I finished it in less than a day).