#14 A Certain Chemistry, by Mil Millington (Hodder and Stoughton)

One of the funniest newspaper columns I've ever read was called Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About, and was written by Mil Millington. It really was very good. I told someone else I was reading a book by Mil Millington, and their response was 'the one who did the column about the Things My Girlriend and I Have Argued About? That was brilliant'.

The pedigree (which prompted a book of the same name) is therefore pretty good, but A Certain Chemistry, while certainly enjoyable, doesn't quite hit the same heights.

The premise is interesting: a (male) ghostwriter starts to work with a famous (female) soap star, falls for her and then has to cope with the fall-out. But there is also some strange occasional narration, from God no less, explaining why relationships begin, blossom and fail is all down to chemistry (hence the title).

There are some very funny lines, mostly when the male and female characters interact with one another, and writing about relationships is clearly Millington's strength. This might even have been enough to sustain a novel, but instead we're also given God's wry omnipresent overview, which I ultimately found a bit tiresome.

Ignoring that small issue, though, there is much to enjoy - even if I found myself wondering how his wife/girlfriend is...

So, rating time:

#14 A Certain Chemistry, by Mil Millington (Hodder and Stoughton) - 7/10

Next up: Ghost, by Robert Harris (Hutchinson)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating