What do you think?
Rate this book
Suspicion
In the common course of events, people choose houses. Sometimes, though, it doesn't work that way. Sometimes houses choose people. They reach out, they whisper, they entice and enfold.
Novelist Emma Roth was convinced that New York City was the only place to live, until the day she encountered the old Victorian mansion overlooking the Long Island Sound. Her husband, Roger, a chaos physicist, was entranced by the ever-changing convergence of land, water, and air; and their son, Zack, by a backyard large enough for a real game of soccer. But for Emma, it was the octagonal tower library, whose panoramic view suggested a sort of omniscience no writer could resist.
Yet no sooner do they move into their dream house than the seemingly impossible occurs. Characters in a computer game address cruel personal remarks to Emma. Her manuscript is tampered with, her home invaded, her family threatened. Before long it is obvious that her tormentor not only has access to her home and her computer's hard drive, but also to her innermost thoughts, secrets, and fears. Hers is an intimate enemy, both vicious and elusive.
Because these things happen only when Emma is alone in the house, she is driven to question her own sanity. Could Roger be right when he hints that it's all in her head? Local rumor has it that the house is haunted, but Emma, a writer of ghost stories herself, no more believes in real ghosts than professional magicians believe in magic. As the trespasses into her life grow more bizarre and more dangerous, suspicion is cast in ever-widening arcs, until Emma is left to question every relationship she has, including her marriage.
Suspicion is an irresistible and addictively compelling tale about a woman who is both haunted and hunted.
Novelist Emma Roth was convinced that New York City was the only place to live, until the day she encountered the old Victorian mansion overlooking the Long Island Sound. Her husband, Roger, a chaos physicist, was entranced by the ever-changing convergence of land, water, and air; and their son, Zack, by a backyard large enough for a real game of soccer. But for Emma, it was the octagonal tower library, whose panoramic view suggested a sort of omniscience no writer could resist.
Yet no sooner do they move into their dream house than the seemingly impossible occurs. Characters in a computer game address cruel personal remarks to Emma. Her manuscript is tampered with, her home invaded, her family threatened. Before long it is obvious that her tormentor not only has access to her home and her computer's hard drive, but also to her innermost thoughts, secrets, and fears. Hers is an intimate enemy, both vicious and elusive.
Because these things happen only when Emma is alone in the house, she is driven to question her own sanity. Could Roger be right when he hints that it's all in her head? Local rumor has it that the house is haunted, but Emma, a writer of ghost stories herself, no more believes in real ghosts than professional magicians believe in magic. As the trespasses into her life grow more bizarre and more dangerous, suspicion is cast in ever-widening arcs, until Emma is left to question every relationship she has, including her marriage.
Suspicion is an irresistible and addictively compelling tale about a woman who is both haunted and hunted.
Hardcover
First published February 18, 1999
4 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Rogan
20 books51 followersBarbara Rogan is the author of eight novels, including SUSPICION and HINDSIGHT (Simon & Schuster). Her next novel, A DANGEROUS FICTION, is the first in a new mystery series set in the high-stakes world of big publishing. It will be published in July 2013 by Viking/Penguin.
Her books have been translated into a dozen languages, featured by the major book clubs, optioned for movie and television and issued as audio books and ebooks.
Barbara has also worked extensively in publishing. She started as an editor for a large New York publisher. After moving to Israel, she was the founder and, for 12 years, director of the Barbara Rogan Literary Agency. During that period, she served on the Board of Directors of the Jerusalem Book Fair.
After returning to the U.S., Barbara taught fiction writing at Hofstra University and SUNY. She currently teaches for Writers Digest University and in her own online school, Next Level Workshops. She's a frequent lecturer on both the business and craft of writing and teaches seminars and master classes at writers' conferences.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 16, 2009
This reminded me of a good old fashioned gothic ghost story. A quick, easy read with very few characters to remember, but great character developement. Pick a good rainy day, curl up in a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy this excellent mystery.
January 22, 2019
(Warning: spoilers!) Barbara Rogan has been doing her thing for quite a while, but I'd never heard of her, like so many great writers. The number of authors who fly under my radar is shameful. I was so excited when I saw her name (discovered through an agent I follow on Twitter), and this book really grabbed my attention because it has all the elements I love: past trauma, mystery, ghosts, a tower library overlooking stormy seas, what's not to love?
Emma Roth is an author of ghost stories who doesn't believe in ghosts. She has a husband who's kind of a dick, a sister who's kind of a dick, and a ghost in her library that's kind of a dick. The story begins with her husband convincing her to leave the city and move to Long Island, and she is swayed when she is introduced to the amazing tower library in the old Victorian house that is inhabited by a grammar-stickler ghost. We follow Emma as she descends into paranoia and suspicion as inexplicable events happen in her house, and it seems something malevolent and threatening is looming just out of reach.
All that sounds great, which is why I don't understand why so much of this book is spent describing a little boy's soccer games. I don't mind that there's two separate explanations for what's happening in her life, but neither one is any kind of surprise, and there's not really much by way of twists and turns. That Emma had a nervous breakdown after causing a car accident that kills a father and daughter is understandable, but for me, she didn't spend nearly enough time questioning her own sanity for someone who'd actually gone insane once before. Overall, I felt like this book made a lot of promises that weren't kept and spent a little too much time delving into introspection on the nature of things and not enough time creating tension and surprise. Also, the POV changes were especially jarring and, quite frankly, unnecessary. I wondered through the entire story why it wasn't told in first person from Emma's point of view to create a bit more vertigo.
However, Rogan did create several avenues to explore as far as explaining the troubles, and I did have at least a little bit of doubt about the trustworthiness of every character. Unfortunately, for a book where the main premise is a woman in physical and psychological peril, I never really felt frightened for Emma, and she came off as such a willing victim I doubt I would've cared if something terrible did happen to her. I do think this book is worth a read, just go in expecting more of a domestic suspense novel and not a scary ghost tale or a psychological thriller.
Emma Roth is an author of ghost stories who doesn't believe in ghosts. She has a husband who's kind of a dick, a sister who's kind of a dick, and a ghost in her library that's kind of a dick. The story begins with her husband convincing her to leave the city and move to Long Island, and she is swayed when she is introduced to the amazing tower library in the old Victorian house that is inhabited by a grammar-stickler ghost. We follow Emma as she descends into paranoia and suspicion as inexplicable events happen in her house, and it seems something malevolent and threatening is looming just out of reach.
All that sounds great, which is why I don't understand why so much of this book is spent describing a little boy's soccer games. I don't mind that there's two separate explanations for what's happening in her life, but neither one is any kind of surprise, and there's not really much by way of twists and turns. That Emma had a nervous breakdown after causing a car accident that kills a father and daughter is understandable, but for me, she didn't spend nearly enough time questioning her own sanity for someone who'd actually gone insane once before. Overall, I felt like this book made a lot of promises that weren't kept and spent a little too much time delving into introspection on the nature of things and not enough time creating tension and surprise. Also, the POV changes were especially jarring and, quite frankly, unnecessary. I wondered through the entire story why it wasn't told in first person from Emma's point of view to create a bit more vertigo.
However, Rogan did create several avenues to explore as far as explaining the troubles, and I did have at least a little bit of doubt about the trustworthiness of every character. Unfortunately, for a book where the main premise is a woman in physical and psychological peril, I never really felt frightened for Emma, and she came off as such a willing victim I doubt I would've cared if something terrible did happen to her. I do think this book is worth a read, just go in expecting more of a domestic suspense novel and not a scary ghost tale or a psychological thriller.
February 21, 2014
I enjoyed this book greatly. I read until 1am, way past bedtime, set it down and turned off light, and turned on light and picked it up again at 2am. I had to see if I was right about who dunnit. I was, but couldn't prove it until 4am. Ugh..........
The writing is lovely and had many literary and movie allusions. I'm adding to my Netflix movie list some of the movies she mentioned. The setting and characters are memorable, the dialogue delightful.
I am going to check out more of Rogan's books to see if they are also such a pleasure to read.
The writing is lovely and had many literary and movie allusions. I'm adding to my Netflix movie list some of the movies she mentioned. The setting and characters are memorable, the dialogue delightful.
I am going to check out more of Rogan's books to see if they are also such a pleasure to read.
January 5, 2008
Some authors just don't write enough books! Rogan is one of those authors. Her work is amazing. 'Suspicion' is a tongue in cheek novel about heroine in distress novels that manages to surprise and keep the reader on the edge of her seat (or this reader anyway).
January 24, 2019
Suspicion came out in the last year of the last century; it’s Barbara Rogan’s sixth novel. After reading two of her other books, Rowing in Eden (1996) and A Dangerous Fiction (2013), I figured it would be another well-written romp—which proved correct. It’s also a nostalgia-free reminder of how the world worked back in the late 1900s, when only a self-selected few carried “portable” phones and when email was tethered to landline phone service. Across the wide divide of Now vs. Then, I can still call up the audio memory—and associated impatience—of dial-up modems. So this novel is a time capsule—not of a simpler world, but of a less connected one.
Emma, a writer of ghost stories, is midway through a first draft of her next book when her family moves from New York City to a house on Long Island Sound—which the locals claim is haunted. (There are too many references to the marketing potential of reframing this personal choice as a publicity stunt, but perhaps a 20th century reader wouldn’t have made that leap so quickly. And besides, what publishing team could resist harping on such a perfect angle to help sell an author’s next book?)
One reason I enjoyed Suspicion enough to review it is that Rogan (who now teaches writing online) is so eloquent about the process of fiction-writing. Emma, considering her eleven year old son’s soccer prowess, makes this analogy:
It’s all about choices, his work and hers. Every time the ball comes near Zack, he’s faced with a series of decisions. Writing’s the same. What seems like a continuous story line is actually a myriad of discrete points, each a potential turning point. A story is the sum of its author’s choices, its parameters defined by the paths not taken. Completed, a story appears to follow its own inexorable trajectory, but that seeming inevitability is not real; it is art’s illusion.”
What’s underneath the writing here (and all through the book) is how caught up Emma gets in her fictional world; watching her son play a Saturday soccer match, she’s daydreaming about how his work compares to her own. Her inability to stay “in the moment” eventually leads to a ghostly confrontation that turns out quite differently than expected. As a reader, I enjoy trying to predict a story’s ending—and then learning I’m completely wrong. Throughout this book, Rogan plants plenty of red herrings—especially in what’s left conspicuously unsaid—but all seem like such a logical possibility that they pleasantly distract rather than annoy.
Read the full review: www.carolnewmancronin.com
Emma, a writer of ghost stories, is midway through a first draft of her next book when her family moves from New York City to a house on Long Island Sound—which the locals claim is haunted. (There are too many references to the marketing potential of reframing this personal choice as a publicity stunt, but perhaps a 20th century reader wouldn’t have made that leap so quickly. And besides, what publishing team could resist harping on such a perfect angle to help sell an author’s next book?)
One reason I enjoyed Suspicion enough to review it is that Rogan (who now teaches writing online) is so eloquent about the process of fiction-writing. Emma, considering her eleven year old son’s soccer prowess, makes this analogy:
It’s all about choices, his work and hers. Every time the ball comes near Zack, he’s faced with a series of decisions. Writing’s the same. What seems like a continuous story line is actually a myriad of discrete points, each a potential turning point. A story is the sum of its author’s choices, its parameters defined by the paths not taken. Completed, a story appears to follow its own inexorable trajectory, but that seeming inevitability is not real; it is art’s illusion.”
What’s underneath the writing here (and all through the book) is how caught up Emma gets in her fictional world; watching her son play a Saturday soccer match, she’s daydreaming about how his work compares to her own. Her inability to stay “in the moment” eventually leads to a ghostly confrontation that turns out quite differently than expected. As a reader, I enjoy trying to predict a story’s ending—and then learning I’m completely wrong. Throughout this book, Rogan plants plenty of red herrings—especially in what’s left conspicuously unsaid—but all seem like such a logical possibility that they pleasantly distract rather than annoy.
Read the full review: www.carolnewmancronin.com
October 18, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
Heard or read it, either way it is true. 'modern books have fast-paced storylines, which in comparison to the older ones, those 'old' will feel slow-paced with no intriguing events that make u chill'.
This book IS good, I enjoyed the book and its plot and mystery. For the events themselves ...... I expected more. And I do believe that it is my fault somehow because I am used to listen and read thrillers that have a million subplots going on at the same time. Though the events, especially closing at the end, were edgy.
I liked the slowness of this book. We got so much of Emma's mind and had time to adore Zack and -kind of- understand Roger and Maggie. I guess I'll miss this book, don't know why I feel connected to Emma and her house. The tower library? I am dying to see that and to live so close to the waters.
However, I could sum up the book with two passages:
"Zack's dream, the purple markings in her manuscript, the frequent sensation of someone standing behind her, the cough, the sound of a body falling downstairs: Though each incident alone admits of other explanations, together they make a compelling case.
Emma searches her face for a trace of compassion, some tiny port of entry, but Caroline's face is nailed down tight. The woman Emma thought she knew, the woman who'd befriended, comforted, and counseled her, is gone. Did she ever really exist?"
__
I got into this book with high hopes after reading the plot, and I was excited to see how the events would unravel. I didn't feel satisfied on that side after finishing, and the ending didn't feel complete to me. I do prefer a closed ending.
Heard or read it, either way it is true. 'modern books have fast-paced storylines, which in comparison to the older ones, those 'old' will feel slow-paced with no intriguing events that make u chill'.
This book IS good, I enjoyed the book and its plot and mystery. For the events themselves ...... I expected more. And I do believe that it is my fault somehow because I am used to listen and read thrillers that have a million subplots going on at the same time. Though the events, especially closing at the end, were edgy.
I liked the slowness of this book. We got so much of Emma's mind and had time to adore Zack and -kind of- understand Roger and Maggie. I guess I'll miss this book, don't know why I feel connected to Emma and her house. The tower library? I am dying to see that and to live so close to the waters.
However, I could sum up the book with two passages:
"Zack's dream, the purple markings in her manuscript, the frequent sensation of someone standing behind her, the cough, the sound of a body falling downstairs: Though each incident alone admits of other explanations, together they make a compelling case.
Emma searches her face for a trace of compassion, some tiny port of entry, but Caroline's face is nailed down tight. The woman Emma thought she knew, the woman who'd befriended, comforted, and counseled her, is gone. Did she ever really exist?"
__
I got into this book with high hopes after reading the plot, and I was excited to see how the events would unravel. I didn't feel satisfied on that side after finishing, and the ending didn't feel complete to me. I do prefer a closed ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2018
This was a fantastic read. The prose was outstanding. The title's theme was woven in throughout, practically on every page, even concerning the protagonist herself as you wondered if she was a reliable narrator. Each character felt fleshed out enough to keep you guessing, but never so little that I thought of someone as throwaway. I especially enjoyed the young son's occasional POV. My only complaint with him: I realize as an only child, he would be a bit precocious, but his dialog at times felt too adult. Way too adult, as in, the vocabulary should have been adjusted accordingly.
Now for my one-star downgrade: At the beginning, I got a certain feel for Emma, like the author laid out who she was in no uncertain terms. I really wanted to read about that character. Yes, I understand layers of character and how people change, yet as the novel progressed, Emma seemed to be a totally different person than the one initially portrayed. It's like I was promised a story about one type of woman and then the author pulled a switcheroo. Also, I love an excellent ghost story and would have loved more interaction there.
Although this novel was written in the late 1990's, it's still an excellent story nearly twenty years later.
Now for my one-star downgrade: At the beginning, I got a certain feel for Emma, like the author laid out who she was in no uncertain terms. I really wanted to read about that character. Yes, I understand layers of character and how people change, yet as the novel progressed, Emma seemed to be a totally different person than the one initially portrayed. It's like I was promised a story about one type of woman and then the author pulled a switcheroo. Also, I love an excellent ghost story and would have loved more interaction there.
Although this novel was written in the late 1990's, it's still an excellent story nearly twenty years later.
October 31, 2018
Excellent writing! An unusual haunting story line. I figured it out midway but the writing was so, well, delicious to read. The writer does an excellent job of exploring each character and even brings to life their daily activity. I did not realize how old this book was until i read the part where the realtor had to go outside to use his car phone! I did a double take on that sentence then checked and saw it was written in 1998! I just may try another one of her books just because her writing style is so good.
March 2, 2025
I've always been someone to push through a book, even if it wasn't good to start with, hoping it would get better and I'd be glad I didn't stop reading.
When I recently told a librarian that her
comment was, "There are so many books, I don't waste my time on the bad ones."
This is the book that changed my mind.
There was so much going on and none of it tied together to make it a story that was suspenseful or at all interesting. I'm just thankful I bought it for a dollar or two at a book sale. I donated it back to another library.
When I recently told a librarian that her
comment was, "There are so many books, I don't waste my time on the bad ones."
This is the book that changed my mind.
There was so much going on and none of it tied together to make it a story that was suspenseful or at all interesting. I'm just thankful I bought it for a dollar or two at a book sale. I donated it back to another library.
November 26, 2017
A really good read about a writer who moves to a haunted house - or is it? Although unexplainable things begin to happen to Emma, no-one else is ever around when these episodes occur. To make things worse, Emma's past history means that her version of events isn't accepted & nobody believes her & this builds the tension in the story up nicely. Then, just when you think you've worked out who's doing it, another twist occurs-keeps you guessing till the end!
June 8, 2022
An easy-to-read book that kept my interest. As the narrator mentions in the story, this was like having sherbert to clear the palate between heavier courses in a meal. Now I can go back to a Charles Todd "Sgt. Rutledge" book, which expects more attention of its readers. This is not a true ghost story, but has that element in it. P.S. Too much soccer!
May 22, 2017
I loved every second of reading this book. Very good, suspenseful read!
September 12, 2019
Entered 2019
Read 2000
I rate every book entereed years later as 2 stars (ok) unless i starred the entry in my original log.
Read 2000
I rate every book entereed years later as 2 stars (ok) unless i starred the entry in my original log.
May 14, 2015
Slightly disappointing but I will definitely try another of her books.
The reason I found it disappointing was I predicted nearly every plot twist. However, I wasn't rolling my eyes or tossing the book aside, just reading along and confirming as I went. The authors prose was smooth, few pov changes were abrupt and the pacing was perfect.
There was just very little surprise to me. I hadn't predicted the ending though, but I will add, it wasn't a 'shocker' just a 'okay, I'm not happy with that but okay'.
The one thing that really bothered me I expected a certain thing that had to do with the ghost (trying to say this without spoilers) I feel that if a certain thing had happened, it would have set up the the way the plot fell into place .. and made more sense to me. However life is full of coincidences and I had to let that go.
But the title is suspicion, the whole book had suspicion AND malevolence laying over each page ... but I was supposed to accept that ONE thing as coincidence? That's hard.
However, smooth pov changes for the most part, excellent pacing and well chosen prose. I'll try another book by her again.
The reason I found it disappointing was I predicted nearly every plot twist. However, I wasn't rolling my eyes or tossing the book aside, just reading along and confirming as I went. The authors prose was smooth, few pov changes were abrupt and the pacing was perfect.
There was just very little surprise to me. I hadn't predicted the ending though, but I will add, it wasn't a 'shocker' just a 'okay, I'm not happy with that but okay'.
The one thing that really bothered me I expected a certain thing that had to do with the ghost (trying to say this without spoilers) I feel that if a certain thing had happened, it would have set up the the way the plot fell into place .. and made more sense to me. However life is full of coincidences and I had to let that go.
But the title is suspicion, the whole book had suspicion AND malevolence laying over each page ... but I was supposed to accept that ONE thing as coincidence? That's hard.
However, smooth pov changes for the most part, excellent pacing and well chosen prose. I'll try another book by her again.
Read
August 9, 2011ghost stories aren't my scene at all but darren told me i'd like the scenery in this one and i did, in addition to liking the supernatural stuff too. the setting was a beach house on long island, new york, and it sounds absolutely gorgeous, apart from the ghosts in the attic of course.
i've heard people complain about books written in the present tense before but i didn't think i'd ever read one. well, i didn't notice that this one was either so it's obviously not a device that grates with me. if anything it added to the story by making you feel closer to the action.
no other rogan books appear to be in print in the uk or the us. i'd say that was a pity on the evidence of this one.
i've heard people complain about books written in the present tense before but i didn't think i'd ever read one. well, i didn't notice that this one was either so it's obviously not a device that grates with me. if anything it added to the story by making you feel closer to the action.
no other rogan books appear to be in print in the uk or the us. i'd say that was a pity on the evidence of this one.
October 20, 2013
I loved this book. It turns out that I love this author! Suspicion was incredibly well written, created characters that I really enjoyed reading about, and had enough twists and turns I couldn't put it down. One of the most interesting things for me? This author actually created enough of an ending that I wasn't clamoring for another in a series with the same folks. No need, this was a fantastic stand alone.
On to find more of Ms. Rogan's books.
On to find more of Ms. Rogan's books.
January 6, 2014
The story of an author (of ghost stories) who moves from NYC to Long Island and into a possibly haunted house. An incident from her past still haunts her and suddenly she is constantly being reminded of this horrible time. Are these occurrences manifestations of a ghost or is she being haunted/hunted by an evil person? There are several trails leading to the culmination of the story - some of them false and some of them leading to the resolution.
December 18, 2018
Part ghost story, part family drama, part thriller, part women’s story of a soccer mom. This was a beautifully written and satisfyingly complex novel.
An author of ghost stories and her husband buy a cool older house on Long Island. Neither of them believes in ghosts. But she has ghosts of her own. And the house actually turns out to be haunted. But the ghost is not her worst problem by a long shot. Not even close.
I found this book on Scribd.
An author of ghost stories and her husband buy a cool older house on Long Island. Neither of them believes in ghosts. But she has ghosts of her own. And the house actually turns out to be haunted. But the ghost is not her worst problem by a long shot. Not even close.
I found this book on Scribd.
May 9, 2011
It took me a while to get into this one but once I did it was an enjoyable ride. We the reader are wondering along with protagonist Emma Roth, "Who done it?"
Could this have been done better? Definitely. Could I have enjoyed it more? Yes, if the characters had been more fleshed out. But I enjoyed it most because it took me a while to figure out whether it was a ghost story or a mystery.
Could this have been done better? Definitely. Could I have enjoyed it more? Yes, if the characters had been more fleshed out. But I enjoyed it most because it took me a while to figure out whether it was a ghost story or a mystery.
September 12, 2013
Very solid read. Kept me interested the entire time! I kind of saw the ending coming, but at the same time, I was still kept guessing. Extremely well-written as well!
I would give the book 4 stars, but I am not a huge ghost story fan. I would of been happy with just the stalker/murderer twist. Other than that very enjoyable!
I would give the book 4 stars, but I am not a huge ghost story fan. I would of been happy with just the stalker/murderer twist. Other than that very enjoyable!
July 3, 2014
The author, Barbara Rogan, recommended this to me on Twitter, because I raved to her about how much I love "A Dangerous Fiction."
Really enjoyed this one, too. Stayed up late finishing it.
I had some theories, and one of them was partly correct. Otherwise, the ending was unexpected and well done.
Really enjoyed this one, too. Stayed up late finishing it.
I had some theories, and one of them was partly correct. Otherwise, the ending was unexpected and well done.
March 6, 2017
This book begins ever-so-kindly but won't stay that way. This who-dunnit is a wild ride about a writer in a new house. Rogan plotted this so well that the reader will begin to think *all* the characters might have done it. Great read, great writer!
May 22, 2012
Recently reread this story. Great characters and beautifully written. I wasn't at all certain who was guilty until the very end. And I found the main character and how her past was revealed fascinating.
July 28, 2015
I first thought it was a horror book, ghosts and all that, ugh! However, it was a good mystery, a little quirky but a good read. It had a ghost, a villain or two, a couple of plot twists and a happy ending.
March 6, 2008
Made you think you knew who done it and then switched it up on you!
August 3, 2011
Predictable, but some really interesting parts, so kept me reading, although it could be ho-hum at times. This was sitting on my shelf from some long-ago purchase, so I thought I'd better start it.
April 26, 2012
This book was very enjoyable. Creepy haunted house (?) It kept me guessing until the last chapter.
July 22, 2014
Good ghost story/mystery. Slightly irritating dropping of subject in sentences. Kept me up late at night.
January 26, 2013
Ghost stories are not my thing but this was a fun story with the main character (a ghost story novelist) struggling to believe in ghosts.
March 4, 2013
Well crafted, well written, engaging story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews