I liked The Savage Garden but this one was just dull, despite all of the plot elements that drew me to it - an unusual setting (Malta), WWII spies, murder, etc. Sometimes I am too quick to attribute things to gender but this very much seemed like a guy's WWII spy/murder story... interpersonal relationships weren't very developed, dialogue was blah, and the only things that were well-described were Spitfires and submarines.