Almost Perfect

I love this book. Chapter headings like "Gwen and Ianto Get a Shopping Montage" and "Captain Jack is Available for Children's Parties" are only the beginning. Ianto mentions speed-dating, and Jack replies "Twenty strangers, some alcohol, and a chance to make small talk? Thirty minutes and we'd all have been in a big naked heap." One in a series of special internal Torchwood publications: "PAMELA'S SUDDENLY SHORTER: Torchwood Operative Instructions for When You Discover You're Not Who You Thought You Were (Last Revised 1958)." It's hilarious and very well-written, with suitable acknowledgment of the hole that Tosh's and Owen's deaths leave in the organization. The plot, about alien entities called The Perfection, is quite interesting--and the trap they set for Jack is extraordinarily disgusting. Rhys gets plenty to do, and mentions a transgendered "Canadian cousin." There's also a brief line about David Brigstocke, a journalist character from an earlier novel I would like to see more of. Almost Perfect: my favorite Torchwood book so far.