Not Kinsella's best, but an enjoyable read.
Kinsella's heroines are pretty easy to like, and Lara Lington is no exception. In Twenties Girl, unlucky-in-career-and-love Lara is haunted by the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie, who recently passed away at the age of 105. But Lara is not haunted by the tiny old woman she does not even remember; vibrant, carefree 23-year-old Sadie from 1927 has come to shape Lara's world.
Kinsella's books are enjoyable in part because they rarely run rough-shod over feminism the way some books classified as "chick lit" do. Lara is a little too preoccupied with her bland ex-boyfriend Josh, but not to the point where you want to smack your forehead in frustration and wonder why anyone thinks human doormats are likable. After all, her lingering feelings for Josh don't stop her from asking out the serious-and-seriously-hot Ed at Aunt Sadie's bidding.
Another likable feature in Kinsella's books is that the baddies learn their lessons--but not through public humiliation. Lara's rich entrepreneur uncle seems to have pulled himself up by his own bootstraps (just ask him), but something about his success doesn't quite ring true--and smart, brave Lara takes pretentious Uncle Bill down a peg or two. (Oh, and manipulative, dishonest business partner Natalie gets what she deserves, too--left on her own in a failing business. Bland boyfriend Josh is punished only by not having fabulous Lara in his life anymore, which is punishment enough.)
Finally, at the end of the novel, everything comes together and everyone is better off--the baddies are taught a lesson, the good ones get their peace of mind (and, in this book, several million pounds for their efforts), and the heroine rides off into the sunset with serious-and-seriously-hot Mr. Right. Not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Oh, and another reason I liked this particular book: toward the beginning, Lara talks about becoming headhunter because she wants to help people. Later she mentions how she analyzes everything and is always concerned about feelings. Due to my recent history, I thought, "If she decides to become a couples counselor at the end of this, I am going to scream!" Thankfully, she does not.