Beach Babylon - Imogen Edwards-Jones

It's fascinating to see how the other half lives.

Beach Babylon is the fourth book in the Babylon series by British writer Imogen Edwards-Jones. Much like the book and tv series Hotel Babylon, it takes readers behind the scenes of a five-star tropical island resort (in a fictitious location, but probably somewhere near Bali) and follows the general manager around on his duties over the period of a week. For the purposes of the book, the events taking place during the 'week' are a condensed version.Just as well - this 'week' would be enough for any manager to hijack a case of $2000 a bottle champagne and a luxury yacht before highfooting it to the nearest (temporary) sandbank and skulling the lot!

The characters, or caricatures, rather, come to life as each new crisis arises, tempers fray and tempestuous guests alternate between demanding the earth and behaving badly on it. The phrase spoilt brat frequently comes to mind, as does the golden rule, ie those who have the gold make the rules.

A light, entertaining read. As for living like the other half - no thanks.