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The author clearly knows a lot about plants and that aspect of the book I really enjoyed reading. However, the contents of each chapter didn't always link to the central theme of the chapter. The book's flow felt forced and there were two editorial mistakes where chunks of text where completely missing. Moreover, the author doesn't seem to contribute much to forensic cases with most cases resulting in not being able to find evidence or evidence that the author suggested being ignored.

From what I heard, this seemed like the kind of book that I might potentially enjoy, insomuch as that I enjoy the natural world. It largely falls into either talking about Gerry's family or "other animals".

Unfortunately I found Gerry's attitude to nature was entitled and cruel, viewing it's existence to serve his own curiosity. Without giving spoilers, there were numerous animals that were snatched from their homes and families with little thought being given to repercussions of his actions. Numerous animals died directly due to Gerry's actions.

The Durrells themselves I found to be entitled, obnoxious and very dysfunctional. Each child (especially Larry) bossed around their Mother who did very little to reprimand any of them. They moved house numerous times on the whims of the children whilst the Mother cleaned up their mess.

All of this would have left a 2 star review had it not been for the incredibly boring writing style. I found this a real struggle to read and would have quit had I not being reading this for a book club. Nothing much happens but it lacked the quality of "quaint" due to the reasons stated above.