As a child Ada seemed to have it all, money, devoted parents and a country upbringing with a private school education. At eighteen she feels entitled and resentful - her father dead and money worries meaning that she has to go to a local comprehensive and now she has failed her Oxford interview. Her godmother offers to subsidise a 'gap year' adventure, a cultural tour of Italy and Ada is determined to fit in with the effortlessly rich clique that she tours with. However when tragedy strikes at the end of the tour Ada sees a way to ingratiate herself into a society that she feels that she should belong to, even if it means telling a few lies.
There are part of this book that I loved and parts I hated! Ada is a very unlikable character, manipulative and calculating, I wasn't sure if she had any redeeming features. however there are few likable characters in the book, each has massive flaws and this makes the book difficult at times because as I reader I cared little for the characters. However it does redeem itself by atmospheric descriptions, particularly of Venice, and a clever little twist in the tale ( )

Ada Howell is desperate to fit in with the ‘in’ crowd, the dilettantes. When her godmother offers her the money to go on an art history excursion to Italy, she jumps at the chance. As Ada’s aspirations and predilections mount, one of the group dies in suspicious circumstances and she finds herself embroiled in a peculiar turn of events of her own making.

I really enjoyed the style of writing, it’s beautifully and eloquently scripted. The story itself, however, is a slow burner and quite unusual. I loved the beginning, it really drew me in and then I started to find it a tad tedious. It could be that it was a little too arty for me. The characters were well drawn but so shallow, I didn’t take to any of them. I loved the descriptions of Italy, especially Venice as it took me back to when I visited there some years ago now. It does have vibes of The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which I absolutely loved, but ultimately The Favour didn’t quite hit the spot for me. ( )