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Schwarze Blumen
Wie aus dem Nichts erscheint eines Tages auf der Promenade eines englischen Seebades ein kleines Mädchen, das eine schwarze Blume in der Hand hält und eine grauenerregende Geschichte erzählt. Ihr Vater entführt Frauen und quält sie auf einer abgelegenen Farm zu Tode. Die Polizei kann die Farm jedoch nicht finden. Doch dann taucht genau diese Geschichte plötzlich in einem Kriminalroman mit dem Titel "Die schwarze Blume" auf. Der Verfasser ist ermordet worden. Und er ist nicht der Einzige, der mit dem Leben bezahlen muss …
400 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
24 people are currently reading
1020 people want to read
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October 9, 2018
Steve Mosby is a skilled and terrific writer. I am a newly converted fan but I am seriously addicted to his books, can't get enough of them. After reading The Nightmare Place his new novel and raving about it I am now working backwards through his previous works. Black Flowers did not let me down.
So what is the book about?
This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back. As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come.
Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father, a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower. Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain and subterfuge.
Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
My Review:
This is one of those books that grabs you and starts to take you on a journey until you are lost in the book and have no sense of the world around you. The tendrils of suspense, horror and curiosity got hold of me and gently pulled me into a whole other world that Steve Mosby created.
Neil Dawson is looking for answers after his father's apparent suicide, his father is an author and Neil also aspires to greatness as a novelist like his dear departed dad. But things are not as they seem and as Neil starts his journey to delve into his father's past and life many things are revealed that entice the reader to keep flicking the pages for more.
Similarly Hannah Price, working in the police force is seeking answers around her father, the father she thought she knew so well, suddenly nothing seems certain anymore, but the truth must be out there somewhere.
The book also involves a serial killer, but not just any old serial killer, he's really clever and smart this one, he's twisted and sick, but he's evaded the eyes of the world for a very long time. The horror and chills that the book evokes from the scenes describing the killer, his motives, his thinking and his deadly methods were heart stopping. I had moments of thinking I wanted to dive into the book and shout at the victim or help them, or anything. Instead I watched him do his work. Not pleasant. You will never think of flowers the same way again after reading this book.
There is a very clever element to this book, it's like a novel within a novel. Can't tell you more as it will spoil your fun, but I found it fascinating and it gave the book an edge over your average crime/serial killer novel out there (and I have read a lot of them).
So who is the girl that suddenly appears on the promenade with the most horrific story to tell? Why is she there? Is she telling the truth? With plenty of twists and turns the book takes you on the journey to find the answers, revealing bits and pieces here and there, keeping you holding on until the finale.
The two paths that Neil and Hannah are on eventually collide. And it's great stuff, really fantastic reveals in this one.
I could NOT put the book down from page one, but by the last few chapters I was nearly hyperventilating reading the happenings, yelling at the characters and willing things to happen. Sheesh, I needed a lie down after reading it. Oh hang on, I was lying down reading it, all the way until the early hours of the morning.
Steve Mosby is a talented writer, his characters are real and you can connect in, the writing is smooth, readable, exciting. The plot is dynamic and explosive. It's a darn good read. The ending was the cream on the cake, loved it, every word, every full stop and every comma.
So what is the book about?
This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back. As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come.
Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father, a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower. Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain and subterfuge.
Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
My Review:
This is one of those books that grabs you and starts to take you on a journey until you are lost in the book and have no sense of the world around you. The tendrils of suspense, horror and curiosity got hold of me and gently pulled me into a whole other world that Steve Mosby created.
Neil Dawson is looking for answers after his father's apparent suicide, his father is an author and Neil also aspires to greatness as a novelist like his dear departed dad. But things are not as they seem and as Neil starts his journey to delve into his father's past and life many things are revealed that entice the reader to keep flicking the pages for more.
Similarly Hannah Price, working in the police force is seeking answers around her father, the father she thought she knew so well, suddenly nothing seems certain anymore, but the truth must be out there somewhere.
The book also involves a serial killer, but not just any old serial killer, he's really clever and smart this one, he's twisted and sick, but he's evaded the eyes of the world for a very long time. The horror and chills that the book evokes from the scenes describing the killer, his motives, his thinking and his deadly methods were heart stopping. I had moments of thinking I wanted to dive into the book and shout at the victim or help them, or anything. Instead I watched him do his work. Not pleasant. You will never think of flowers the same way again after reading this book.
There is a very clever element to this book, it's like a novel within a novel. Can't tell you more as it will spoil your fun, but I found it fascinating and it gave the book an edge over your average crime/serial killer novel out there (and I have read a lot of them).
So who is the girl that suddenly appears on the promenade with the most horrific story to tell? Why is she there? Is she telling the truth? With plenty of twists and turns the book takes you on the journey to find the answers, revealing bits and pieces here and there, keeping you holding on until the finale.
The two paths that Neil and Hannah are on eventually collide. And it's great stuff, really fantastic reveals in this one.
I could NOT put the book down from page one, but by the last few chapters I was nearly hyperventilating reading the happenings, yelling at the characters and willing things to happen. Sheesh, I needed a lie down after reading it. Oh hang on, I was lying down reading it, all the way until the early hours of the morning.
Steve Mosby is a talented writer, his characters are real and you can connect in, the writing is smooth, readable, exciting. The plot is dynamic and explosive. It's a darn good read. The ending was the cream on the cake, loved it, every word, every full stop and every comma.
May 2, 2014
I looked at all of the author's books so far and for some reason this one stood out as a first read of his works. I was not disappointed. This is a brilliant read, one of the best I've read for a long time. A reminder of why, when I find the right book, I feel passionately about reading. And I don't say that lightly.
Books within books, stories within stories. It weaves, it dances, it spins from one scenario to the next. As a reader being led gently and then constantly being asked 'so you think you know the answer, but do you?' Again, and again, questioning your own abilities and thoughts and being given a proper brain workout! Different narratives spoken seamlessly and clearly.
It's a book that's haunting, dark, sinister, yet written with a lightness of touch befitting an artist's delicate strokes. Beautifully descriptive at times, that had me highlighting passages, sentences, which I would read and re-read 3 or 4 times. Something I very rarely do. It wasn't about characters and whether I liked or didn't like them, just pure storytelling that carried me through effortlessly from beginning to end.
In short, this book is like a black flower, dark, stunningly beautiful, with light bouncing off its delicate petals. A book that will stay with me for a very long time. I think, it's fair to say I loved it, and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.
Books within books, stories within stories. It weaves, it dances, it spins from one scenario to the next. As a reader being led gently and then constantly being asked 'so you think you know the answer, but do you?' Again, and again, questioning your own abilities and thoughts and being given a proper brain workout! Different narratives spoken seamlessly and clearly.
It's a book that's haunting, dark, sinister, yet written with a lightness of touch befitting an artist's delicate strokes. Beautifully descriptive at times, that had me highlighting passages, sentences, which I would read and re-read 3 or 4 times. Something I very rarely do. It wasn't about characters and whether I liked or didn't like them, just pure storytelling that carried me through effortlessly from beginning to end.
In short, this book is like a black flower, dark, stunningly beautiful, with light bouncing off its delicate petals. A book that will stay with me for a very long time. I think, it's fair to say I loved it, and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.
June 10, 2015
If i wasn't a fan of Steve Mosby i am now this book just blew me away was hooked from start to finish the main characters DS Neil Dawson & DS Hannah Price both lost their fathers in horrific circumstances whoever comes into contact with the black flower something bad happens lots of twists & turns i loved this book
December 23, 2020
Wow, this was a stunning novel, review to come.
March 15, 2015
My first book by this author and had read many good reviews for this book, so chose this for myself and my book pal Lisa for March.
Black flowers for the missing ones mean they're never coming back, in a chilling new tale from a master of modern crime.
This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back. As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come. Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father—a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower. Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain, and subterfuge. Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
The fact that you have a story being told within another story is ingenious and Mosby does it in an amazingly good way. You get pieces and pieces of information -some real, some fictional- and you have to put them all together to see the whole picture. Of course, you have a great help from the main characters, each one investigating in their own way the same past story at the same time.
The book also involves a serial killer, but not just any old serial killer, he's really clever and smart this one, he's twisted and sick, but he's evaded the eyes of the world for a very long time. The horror and chills that the book evokes from the scenes describing the killer, his motives, his thinking and his deadly methods were heart stopping. I had moments of thinking I wanted to dive into the book and shout at the victim or help them, or anything. Instead I watched him do his work. Not pleasant. You will never think of flowers the same way again after reading this book.
A complex but gripping story that holds your attention to the last page.
Why only a four star, mainly because so many characters to remember from the past and present.
Black flowers for the missing ones mean they're never coming back, in a chilling new tale from a master of modern crime.
This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back. As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come. Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father—a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower. Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain, and subterfuge. Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
The fact that you have a story being told within another story is ingenious and Mosby does it in an amazingly good way. You get pieces and pieces of information -some real, some fictional- and you have to put them all together to see the whole picture. Of course, you have a great help from the main characters, each one investigating in their own way the same past story at the same time.
The book also involves a serial killer, but not just any old serial killer, he's really clever and smart this one, he's twisted and sick, but he's evaded the eyes of the world for a very long time. The horror and chills that the book evokes from the scenes describing the killer, his motives, his thinking and his deadly methods were heart stopping. I had moments of thinking I wanted to dive into the book and shout at the victim or help them, or anything. Instead I watched him do his work. Not pleasant. You will never think of flowers the same way again after reading this book.
A complex but gripping story that holds your attention to the last page.
Why only a four star, mainly because so many characters to remember from the past and present.
December 31, 2023
I suppose this will be my final review of 2023. Although I finished this a few days ago, I think it’s fair to say, as I write this review for my favorite December read, that I’m going out with a bang! Black Flowers was the exact story I’d been craving.
This is the fifth book I’ve read that Steve Mosby has written, and I must say this man never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. All five novels have revolved around a serial killer. How innovative can an author be with that worn out trope? In the right hands, highly original tales can be molded from old clay, and Steve Mosby certainly has originality in the bag.
But he also pens beautiful novels. Yes, murder is involved, and those details can be graphic at times, but he delves deep into the heart of human beings and their relationships through his writing. While the mystery and its complexities make his books compelling, it’s the emotional depth that truly keeps me mesmerized.
Black Flowers is a complicated story, which is one of the aspects I loved about it. There is a book within a book, but the second book comes to life, breathing into the other until there’s just one distinct heartbeat.
Mosby cleverly disguised the truth, causing me to doubt my own suspicion, and chillingly pulled it all together into a pulse pounding conclusion. I was so gripped by Black Flowers’ suspense that, during this busy season when I was too exhausted to read at night, I found myself waking at 5 in the morning so I could have an hour to be captivated by the novel before I needed to get moving for the day.
You should know that this is not a tale of plausibility. You must be willing to accept fantastical possibilities when you become a part of the narrative. If you prefer stories grounded in reality, I would not recommend this one.
CW: Murder, including child murder, pedophilia (never detailed, but clearly implied), child abuse, suicide.
This is the fifth book I’ve read that Steve Mosby has written, and I must say this man never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. All five novels have revolved around a serial killer. How innovative can an author be with that worn out trope? In the right hands, highly original tales can be molded from old clay, and Steve Mosby certainly has originality in the bag.
But he also pens beautiful novels. Yes, murder is involved, and those details can be graphic at times, but he delves deep into the heart of human beings and their relationships through his writing. While the mystery and its complexities make his books compelling, it’s the emotional depth that truly keeps me mesmerized.
Black Flowers is a complicated story, which is one of the aspects I loved about it. There is a book within a book, but the second book comes to life, breathing into the other until there’s just one distinct heartbeat.
Mosby cleverly disguised the truth, causing me to doubt my own suspicion, and chillingly pulled it all together into a pulse pounding conclusion. I was so gripped by Black Flowers’ suspense that, during this busy season when I was too exhausted to read at night, I found myself waking at 5 in the morning so I could have an hour to be captivated by the novel before I needed to get moving for the day.
You should know that this is not a tale of plausibility. You must be willing to accept fantastical possibilities when you become a part of the narrative. If you prefer stories grounded in reality, I would not recommend this one.
CW: Murder, including child murder, pedophilia (never detailed, but clearly implied), child abuse, suicide.
November 27, 2012
I don’t read tons of crime fiction – I'm a dabbler. But Steve Mosby's name has been floating around the part of my mind devoted to the ever-present ‘what book to read next?’ question for some time, partly because of his excellent short stories in both Off The Record & Off The Record 2 - At The Movies - A Charity Anthology, and partly from seeing a recommendation for his book Black Flowers from Ramsey Campbell.
So I was expecting this one to be a bit tasty. I wasn't wrong.
Black Flowers tells the story (and I use that word deliberately) of Neil Dawson, a young writer looking into the apparent suicide of his father, who was also a writer. His investigations dig up not just real life clues, but links to his father’s writing and that of another writer, who wrote a book called The Black Flower. Extracts from that book feature as a story within a story in Black Flowers.
Things get even stranger when a story that Neil wrote himself, expressing some of his temporary unease at the idea of becoming a father, seems to start to come true. And it wasn't a pleasant story; not at all.
His partner is kidnapped, and the only way to save her appears to be to understand events buried in the past, and in the pages of The Black Flower. Side by side with this, the book also tells of Hannah Price, a police detective also finding out disturbing things about her own father and the stories he may have told her…
Black Flowers is obsessed with the way stories and narrative shape our lives – and not just stories in books, but those told to us by those we trust. The book presents two opposing, but equally disturbing ideas. Firstly that the stories we have based our beliefs and principles around might actually be false, and that one day we might find our world crumbling as we face up to that. But secondly, that stories have power over our lives regardless of whether they are true or false; that as well as fearing stories turning out to be false we should also fear stories that might start to become all too true.
Lots of books that use meta-fictional trickery do so in a playful way, but Black Flowers plays it straight off the bat and is as dark as hell. It’s this, over and above the horrifying specifics of the crimes featured in the story, that for me makes this book as much horror as a crime novel. I've blogged before about how I don't view horror as a genre as such, but as an ingredient that features in many books that aren't marketed as such. Mosby certainly seems to prove my point here, although the crime genre elements are equally strong and gripping.
The prose is tight, the setting vivid, the characters realistic (even the doubly-fictional ones in the book within a book). Most memorable for me is the imagery of the black flowers themselves, and what the reader comes to understand they represent...
So all in all, very strongly recommended. Dark, clever, and compelling. As I said, I knew it would be a bit tasty.
So I was expecting this one to be a bit tasty. I wasn't wrong.
Black Flowers tells the story (and I use that word deliberately) of Neil Dawson, a young writer looking into the apparent suicide of his father, who was also a writer. His investigations dig up not just real life clues, but links to his father’s writing and that of another writer, who wrote a book called The Black Flower. Extracts from that book feature as a story within a story in Black Flowers.
Things get even stranger when a story that Neil wrote himself, expressing some of his temporary unease at the idea of becoming a father, seems to start to come true. And it wasn't a pleasant story; not at all.
His partner is kidnapped, and the only way to save her appears to be to understand events buried in the past, and in the pages of The Black Flower. Side by side with this, the book also tells of Hannah Price, a police detective also finding out disturbing things about her own father and the stories he may have told her…
Black Flowers is obsessed with the way stories and narrative shape our lives – and not just stories in books, but those told to us by those we trust. The book presents two opposing, but equally disturbing ideas. Firstly that the stories we have based our beliefs and principles around might actually be false, and that one day we might find our world crumbling as we face up to that. But secondly, that stories have power over our lives regardless of whether they are true or false; that as well as fearing stories turning out to be false we should also fear stories that might start to become all too true.
Lots of books that use meta-fictional trickery do so in a playful way, but Black Flowers plays it straight off the bat and is as dark as hell. It’s this, over and above the horrifying specifics of the crimes featured in the story, that for me makes this book as much horror as a crime novel. I've blogged before about how I don't view horror as a genre as such, but as an ingredient that features in many books that aren't marketed as such. Mosby certainly seems to prove my point here, although the crime genre elements are equally strong and gripping.
The prose is tight, the setting vivid, the characters realistic (even the doubly-fictional ones in the book within a book). Most memorable for me is the imagery of the black flowers themselves, and what the reader comes to understand they represent...
So all in all, very strongly recommended. Dark, clever, and compelling. As I said, I knew it would be a bit tasty.
January 13, 2020
Black Flowers is the first of Steve Mosby’s books that I’ve read so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I certainly wasn’t let down. I did find the first 50 pages of the book to be slow and I did feel a little lost as it introduced the various characters and some elements that would play a role in the story later on. I found throughout the book that some of the changes between character points of view was a little jarring as it didn’t specify who’s view you were getting at the start of a chapter and it sometimes took a few paragraphs before it became clear. The book was split into parts and it wasn’t until the end of part one when the plot really seemed to pick up and that my interest was piqued. The story itself was quite different from what I’ve read before and kept me guessing as to what was true and how it was going to end which is what I want from these kinds of books. As it got into the last 100 pages the pace and the tension definitely picked up. Overall this was a very satisfying read though I would say it was not as scary or thrilling as the reviews on the book cover suggested.
February 23, 2015
Black Flowers kept my interest from beginning to end. The twists and turns had me guessing, while figuring out what was reality or fiction. I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it wholeheartedly.
June 23, 2015
I don't understand what the heck happened in this book. I got so confused.
June 15, 2014
Steve Mosby has written a great book, Black Flowers. It starts with the opposite of the norm with a girl who appears on a promenade in 1977 seemingly from nowhere, she is wearing old fashioned clothes and carrying a woman's handbag which carries a flower... a black flower. Sullivan the Policeman finds her there and his story is later written in a book by Robert Wiseman; extracts we read within our book.
Part 1 then introduces us to an aspiring author, Neil Dawson, who also writes a story and emails it to his father who has published books but then finds out his father has committed suicide. He needs to find out why and starts retracing his last movements. Policewoman Hannah Price finds a map in her father's house after his death, is her belief that her father was a good man wrong? She has to know so investigates further.... The layering of one story over another continues throughout the book making you wonder what is fact, what is fiction and can fiction become fact if it is repeated often enough?
This is not a gentle read, it is full of atmosphere and it grabs your attention as all the stories within the stories begin to come together exposing terrifying happenings along the way. This is not a book you will forget in a hurry, definitely a psychological thriller!
Part 1 then introduces us to an aspiring author, Neil Dawson, who also writes a story and emails it to his father who has published books but then finds out his father has committed suicide. He needs to find out why and starts retracing his last movements. Policewoman Hannah Price finds a map in her father's house after his death, is her belief that her father was a good man wrong? She has to know so investigates further.... The layering of one story over another continues throughout the book making you wonder what is fact, what is fiction and can fiction become fact if it is repeated often enough?
This is not a gentle read, it is full of atmosphere and it grabs your attention as all the stories within the stories begin to come together exposing terrifying happenings along the way. This is not a book you will forget in a hurry, definitely a psychological thriller!
January 10, 2015
I think I read this one in record time. Storyline is full of discoveries, coincidences, lies, and very human emotions.
There are two elderly men who have a tenuous thread between them ... a book about a little girl who appears out of nowhere with a horrible story of where she's been and a blackflower, who the girl says is her friend, Jane.
This story could be true ... or the product of a vivid imagination. Two people are looking for the truth ... trying to figure out who they are and how they got to where they are.
It's a journey filled with doubts. What would you do if you found out your father was a serial killer long after he was dead? What if you found out someone is still alive who should be dead ... and another who should be dead that isn't?
The book bounces back forth in time (30 years) but its done in a way that is not confusing. I had fun trying to take the strands and figure out exactly what had happened in the past and changed the future. And the ending wasn't anything I saw coming.
I gave it 5 stars ..... and I think I have another favorite author.
There are two elderly men who have a tenuous thread between them ... a book about a little girl who appears out of nowhere with a horrible story of where she's been and a blackflower, who the girl says is her friend, Jane.
This story could be true ... or the product of a vivid imagination. Two people are looking for the truth ... trying to figure out who they are and how they got to where they are.
It's a journey filled with doubts. What would you do if you found out your father was a serial killer long after he was dead? What if you found out someone is still alive who should be dead ... and another who should be dead that isn't?
The book bounces back forth in time (30 years) but its done in a way that is not confusing. I had fun trying to take the strands and figure out exactly what had happened in the past and changed the future. And the ending wasn't anything I saw coming.
I gave it 5 stars ..... and I think I have another favorite author.
April 6, 2018
Whilst the Steve Mosby books aren’t bad, I have never had so much trouble concentrating on them as I have with these, constantly winding back the audiobook and trying again. I’m not sure if it’s the narrator (I’m compelled to listen at 1.25x to not drift off even further) or the stories themselves.
I didn’t not like this book but felt it to be missing something. Firstly, the novel within the novel was written in an identical style as Mosby’s books themselves that at times it was hard to separate the two (I know that was part of the point!) but towards the end with his father’s recovered works, it would never have been written like that, and read as a part of the main story, recounting what was happening.
The plot was good and the fiction in the fiction was a cool touch but there’s something missing for me to put Steve Mosby amongst my favourite authors.
I’m hoping that given the reviews of 50/50 that my opinion of is works will improve; and the fact that it’s read by a different narrator could be an interesting twist!
I didn’t not like this book but felt it to be missing something. Firstly, the novel within the novel was written in an identical style as Mosby’s books themselves that at times it was hard to separate the two (I know that was part of the point!) but towards the end with his father’s recovered works, it would never have been written like that, and read as a part of the main story, recounting what was happening.
The plot was good and the fiction in the fiction was a cool touch but there’s something missing for me to put Steve Mosby amongst my favourite authors.
I’m hoping that given the reviews of 50/50 that my opinion of is works will improve; and the fact that it’s read by a different narrator could be an interesting twist!
July 10, 2017
This is a fictional book about a fictional book that someone in the fictional book within the story makes come true. Confused yet? I thought you would be. However, it isn’t all that confusing really. What it is though is an expertly written, darkly shadowed tale of a little girl who returns from the land of the missing. Only one policeman believes her story. But the killer knows it’s true.
If you like the unusual or the bizarre coupled with secrets, lies and the unraveled mind than this book is for you. Mosby is an English writer which is why his book remained on my “to read” list for so long (May 2014). I simply couldn’t find the book. Hello Amazon. Imported it from London. And I just realized I got so into it, I finished it before I even listed it as “currently reading.” Ooops
If you like the unusual or the bizarre coupled with secrets, lies and the unraveled mind than this book is for you. Mosby is an English writer which is why his book remained on my “to read” list for so long (May 2014). I simply couldn’t find the book. Hello Amazon. Imported it from London. And I just realized I got so into it, I finished it before I even listed it as “currently reading.” Ooops
May 2, 2015
I'm genuinely confused by all the glowing reviews for this book, which I thought was incredibly slow paced and entirely lacking in suspense. I didn't enjoy the forced parallels between fiction and previous events, I found the characters very flat and badly described, and the ending very rushed and not properly explained. Was also genuinely irritated by the author repeatedly including italicised sound effects. You're not writing for children.
Would not recommend.
Would not recommend.
June 15, 2015
Loved it. Can't wait to read more of his books.
August 2, 2018
Oh my gosh- A story within a story = Confusion! Sorry folks- I know there are numerous 4 and 5 stars for this book- I just don't get it. Oh well....
August 29, 2021
Started well, a good set up. But then it went a bit flat. And then plot devices started to annoy me. I’ve never been enthusiastic about stories within stories and I think the author overplayed his hand in that regard. The ending went on too long, in an effort to tie up plot threads that we didn’t even need.
March 25, 2021
Great book
April 19, 2012
Aspiring author and father-to-be Neil Dawson finds himself a bit overwhelmed with the idea of being tied down with a wife and child. It’s not that he doesn’t want them, he’s just not entirely sure how he will manage both them and his job, and still find time to devote to his writing.
To let off a little steam, Neil writes a story about the Goblin King. In Neil’s story, the Goblin King grants a young man his wish… that his girlfriend’s pregnancy conveniently disappear. Neil feels slightly guilty about the topic, but still, better to write a story than say things out loud that can’t be taken back, no? Eager for some feedback, Neil sends the story off to his father, himself an author, for review.
It’s not until several days later when he receives a call from his father’s agent that Neil realizes he hasn’t heard back from him. The agent is concerned she hasn’t gotten a response from Dawson in awhile, so Neil pays a visit to his father to touch base. What he finds is an empty house, with a message on the answering machine from the police asking someone from Dawson’s family to call them. Neil’s father, it turns out, has been found dead in a neighboring town.
Enter Detective Sergeant Hannah Price. Price has built her career around trying to live up to the standard set by her father, who also rose to the rank of Detective Sergeant on the very force on which Price now serves. Having recently lost her father, when she’s assigned to investigate the apparent suicide of Christopher Dawson she’s particularly attuned to what Neil is going through struggling to cope with his father’s untimely death. What she doesn’t realize is that she too will soon be struggling once again with her own father’s death, but for reasons she couldn’t ever possibly have anticipated.
Trying to understand why his father would kill himself, Neil begins looking into the circumstances surrounding his father’s death and comes across an old detective novel called The Black Flower amongst his father’s possessions. His father appears to have been obsessed with the book, and when Neil begins to read it he is disturbed to discover the plot eerily mirrors events occurring in his own life. And this is where Black Flowers really takes on that special feeling that author Steve Mosby brings to his writing. Never one to give his readers a conventional offering, Black Flowers is very cleverly, and quite intricately, presented as a story within a story… with flashbacks thrown in as well for good measure.
Interspersing excerpts from The Black Flower with current events, Mosby slowly reveals to both Neil and readers the story of a young girl who appears out of the blue one day in a small seaside town not unlike the one where DS Price works and Neil’s father died. The girl carries with her nothing but a mangy bag containing a withered black flower, and a horrifying account of her past. According to the book’s author, the story was based on crimes that actually occurred in the seventies, crimes DS Price’s father investigated and which she comes to question whether he handled appropriately.
The multiple narratives – Neil and his father, Price and her father, the story in The Black Flower – are seamlessly interwoven, carefully overlapping not unlike the petals of a flower. As Mosby brings them ever closer together on their inevitable collision course he plays with the concept that fiction can fuel reality, that if stories are powerful enough and retold often enough they can take root as ideas that result in action. It’s an intriguing concept, one which Mosby brings vividly and disturbingly to life in Black Flowers.
It’s no secret Steve Mosby is one of my favorite authors (I did devote an entire week to him on my blog last year), but he has really outdone himself with Black Flowers, in which he essentially tells three stories simultaneously, keeping them distinct yet also making it quite clear they are parallel versions of one another. It’s an incredibly tricky feat, but one which Mosby pulls off sublimely. Black Flowers is a book which will both challenge and stick with you, and was easily one of my Top 5 reads of 2011.
To let off a little steam, Neil writes a story about the Goblin King. In Neil’s story, the Goblin King grants a young man his wish… that his girlfriend’s pregnancy conveniently disappear. Neil feels slightly guilty about the topic, but still, better to write a story than say things out loud that can’t be taken back, no? Eager for some feedback, Neil sends the story off to his father, himself an author, for review.
It’s not until several days later when he receives a call from his father’s agent that Neil realizes he hasn’t heard back from him. The agent is concerned she hasn’t gotten a response from Dawson in awhile, so Neil pays a visit to his father to touch base. What he finds is an empty house, with a message on the answering machine from the police asking someone from Dawson’s family to call them. Neil’s father, it turns out, has been found dead in a neighboring town.
Enter Detective Sergeant Hannah Price. Price has built her career around trying to live up to the standard set by her father, who also rose to the rank of Detective Sergeant on the very force on which Price now serves. Having recently lost her father, when she’s assigned to investigate the apparent suicide of Christopher Dawson she’s particularly attuned to what Neil is going through struggling to cope with his father’s untimely death. What she doesn’t realize is that she too will soon be struggling once again with her own father’s death, but for reasons she couldn’t ever possibly have anticipated.
Trying to understand why his father would kill himself, Neil begins looking into the circumstances surrounding his father’s death and comes across an old detective novel called The Black Flower amongst his father’s possessions. His father appears to have been obsessed with the book, and when Neil begins to read it he is disturbed to discover the plot eerily mirrors events occurring in his own life. And this is where Black Flowers really takes on that special feeling that author Steve Mosby brings to his writing. Never one to give his readers a conventional offering, Black Flowers is very cleverly, and quite intricately, presented as a story within a story… with flashbacks thrown in as well for good measure.
Interspersing excerpts from The Black Flower with current events, Mosby slowly reveals to both Neil and readers the story of a young girl who appears out of the blue one day in a small seaside town not unlike the one where DS Price works and Neil’s father died. The girl carries with her nothing but a mangy bag containing a withered black flower, and a horrifying account of her past. According to the book’s author, the story was based on crimes that actually occurred in the seventies, crimes DS Price’s father investigated and which she comes to question whether he handled appropriately.
The multiple narratives – Neil and his father, Price and her father, the story in The Black Flower – are seamlessly interwoven, carefully overlapping not unlike the petals of a flower. As Mosby brings them ever closer together on their inevitable collision course he plays with the concept that fiction can fuel reality, that if stories are powerful enough and retold often enough they can take root as ideas that result in action. It’s an intriguing concept, one which Mosby brings vividly and disturbingly to life in Black Flowers.
It’s no secret Steve Mosby is one of my favorite authors (I did devote an entire week to him on my blog last year), but he has really outdone himself with Black Flowers, in which he essentially tells three stories simultaneously, keeping them distinct yet also making it quite clear they are parallel versions of one another. It’s an incredibly tricky feat, but one which Mosby pulls off sublimely. Black Flowers is a book which will both challenge and stick with you, and was easily one of my Top 5 reads of 2011.
March 18, 2022
Brilliant read-didn’t want to put it down with all the twists and turns….. only thing I struggled with was all the characters and flitting from one to the other without any warning or naming so a little unsure who’s thoughts I was reading until a few paragraphs into the chapter.
March 30, 2016
BLURB - Black flowers for the missing ones mean they're never coming back, in a chilling new tale from a master of modern crime. This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back.
As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come. Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father—a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower.
Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain, and subterfuge. Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
The ubiquitous crime cover doesn't do this book justice, meaning you would think it was just another crime novel but it's not -at all. A real treat, a novel within a novel, with the two threads colliding in a shocking, unforgettable climax.
I had a sense of disorientation whilst reading this matryoshka doll of a book and had to literally put the book down to gather my thoughts at several points even though all I wanted to do was to race to the end.
Beautifully written, perfect pacing and superior to many of the other novels crowding the crime genre.
As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come. Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father—a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower.
Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain, and subterfuge. Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
The ubiquitous crime cover doesn't do this book justice, meaning you would think it was just another crime novel but it's not -at all. A real treat, a novel within a novel, with the two threads colliding in a shocking, unforgettable climax.
I had a sense of disorientation whilst reading this matryoshka doll of a book and had to literally put the book down to gather my thoughts at several points even though all I wanted to do was to race to the end.
Beautifully written, perfect pacing and superior to many of the other novels crowding the crime genre.
January 24, 2022
This is quite a complicated book. There is a story within the story, a book within the book. It takes time for the various strands to be revealed, for the reader to fully understand what may be going on. At the heart of it is a book, whose author Robert Wiseman disappeared, presumed dead, about a mysterious girl who suddenly appears, apparently out of nowhere. Is it fiction, or was it based on real events?
A man's father disappears. Then the Police contact him, as his father appears to have committed suicide, falling from a viaduct over a river in a town called Whitkirk. As he investigates what his father, also a writer, had been doing in the days leading up to his death, the son starts to suspect something else may be going on. When his pregnant girlfriend is abducted, it adds urgency to his search to understand what is happening.
Meanwhile, in Whitkirk, DS Price begins to suspect that her deceased father, also a Police officer, may have been involved in suspicious deaths. As she investigates, it throws up questions about her father and her own past.
Gradually the threads start to weave together, as we begin to understand the horrific secret behind all these events. Steve Mosby (later Alex North) is excellent at slowly building the tension. Perhaps a little too slowly in this case. I suppose it all came together by the end, and was resolved. But it didn't feel that way to me. I couldn't quite make sense of it all.
A man's father disappears. Then the Police contact him, as his father appears to have committed suicide, falling from a viaduct over a river in a town called Whitkirk. As he investigates what his father, also a writer, had been doing in the days leading up to his death, the son starts to suspect something else may be going on. When his pregnant girlfriend is abducted, it adds urgency to his search to understand what is happening.
Meanwhile, in Whitkirk, DS Price begins to suspect that her deceased father, also a Police officer, may have been involved in suspicious deaths. As she investigates, it throws up questions about her father and her own past.
Gradually the threads start to weave together, as we begin to understand the horrific secret behind all these events. Steve Mosby (later Alex North) is excellent at slowly building the tension. Perhaps a little too slowly in this case. I suppose it all came together by the end, and was resolved. But it didn't feel that way to me. I couldn't quite make sense of it all.
June 16, 2012
This book was recommended to me, i'd never heard of Steve Mosby before but i'm very glad i've heard of him now ... this is a great book & a good story with a nice twist ... but the best thing about this author is his turn of phrase, his atmospheric scene setting, his beautiful emotive sentences ... it was a joy to read & i've already ordered his earlier publications and await them with baited breath .....
September 16, 2024
I loved this book, it was a bit of a slow burner at first building up in lots of layers and background information but once I got into it properly I couldn't put it down .it had.me gripped right until the end .
January 7, 2019
Frammenti di Buio
Steve Mosby
questo è un Thriller davvero atipico,perchè si tratta di un romanzo nel romanzo,una parte infatti è ambientata a Whitkirk e nella contea di Huntington situate entrambe presumibilmennte in Inghilterra,anche se non viene mai specificato chiaramente,e si svolge nel 2010,mentre una parte,sotto forma di romanzo è ambientata invece a Faverton(una cittadina immaginaria,ma che ricalca l'aspetto di Whitkirk).
Whitkirk è una cittadina costiera,tipico luogo di villeggiatura,un luogo tranquilla scossa da alcuni crimini insoluti.
IL metodo narrativo è davvero curioso,abbiamo infatti una parte di narrazione che si riferisce ad un romanzo intitolato "i fiori neri" ambientato nel 1977 e una parte invece ambientata nel 2010.
Ma cerchiamo di fare chiarezza..
Neil Dawson è uno scrittore,come suo padre del resto(il cui nome è Christopher Dawson) e lavora nell'università locale,ha 25 anni ed ha una relazione con Hally dalla quale ha appena scoperto di aspettare un figlio non desiderato.
Hanah Price è un sergente della polizia di Whitkirk nonchè figlia dell'ormai compianto Colin Price anchesso poliziotto.
Una telefonata sconvolge il tranquillo mondo di Neil,suo padre è morto,apparentemente suicida,Neil si reca a casa sua e trova una copia di un libro,con all'interno un fiore nero.
questo libro racconta la storia di una bambina di sei anni,che al contrario di quello che succede spesso nelle storie dell'orrore anziche sparire..appare...e ha una storiaa da raccontare.
Ma che succede se la storia di questa ragazzina è simile a fatti di cronaca realmente accaduti?e se i personaggi del libro sono molto,davvero troppo simili a persone reali?
Neil pensa di essere diventato paranoico ma quando Ally sparisce e lui viene contattato da un uomo che lo minaccia la paura si fa concreta e lui dovrà capire che cosa è finzione e cosa non lo è.
Questo è il secondo romanzo di Mosby che leggo,il primo è stato 50/50 killer un libro che avevo apprezzato tantissimo e che è finito dritto dritto nella classifica dei miei thriller preferiti.
devo dire che una caratteristica di Mosby è quella di creare romanzi particolarmente intricati dal punto di vista della trama e dove ogni pezzetto del puzzle va perfettamente a incastrarsi con gli altri,ma il lettore non se ne accorge,finchè non ha una visione piu ampia e si trova davanti a una storia che per quanto surreale è ben costruita e funziona.
In questo caso la narrazione è particolarmente intricata per via del romanzo nel romanzo,leggeremo infatti interi capitoli de "i fiori neri" e questo ci aiuterà a fare chiarezza sulla storia e sui personaggi.
Devo dire che nonostante il sistema narrativo particolare si tratta di un thriller scorrevole e ben costruito,di cui è veramente difficile parlare senza rischiare di spoilerare eventi o fatti importanti perchè davvero ricco di colpi di scena.
Apprezzo l'ingegno di questo scrittore,che cerca di uscire dai soliti schemi del thriller e di sperimentare,osando qualcosa di particolare.
Nel complesso questo romanzo mi è piaciuto,nonostante abbia le sue pecche,per esempio l'autore non ha particolarmente caratterizzato i suoi personaggi,forse per non rendere pesante un romanzo gia di per se complicato.
Anche le ambientazioni sono pressoche inesistenti a livello descrittivo(esclusa la fattoria),
Inoltre il principio e la parte centrale del libro mi sono sembrate costruite meglio rispetto al finale che mi è sembrato un po affrettato.
Steve Mosby
questo è un Thriller davvero atipico,perchè si tratta di un romanzo nel romanzo,una parte infatti è ambientata a Whitkirk e nella contea di Huntington situate entrambe presumibilmennte in Inghilterra,anche se non viene mai specificato chiaramente,e si svolge nel 2010,mentre una parte,sotto forma di romanzo è ambientata invece a Faverton(una cittadina immaginaria,ma che ricalca l'aspetto di Whitkirk).
Whitkirk è una cittadina costiera,tipico luogo di villeggiatura,un luogo tranquilla scossa da alcuni crimini insoluti.
IL metodo narrativo è davvero curioso,abbiamo infatti una parte di narrazione che si riferisce ad un romanzo intitolato "i fiori neri" ambientato nel 1977 e una parte invece ambientata nel 2010.
Ma cerchiamo di fare chiarezza..
Neil Dawson è uno scrittore,come suo padre del resto(il cui nome è Christopher Dawson) e lavora nell'università locale,ha 25 anni ed ha una relazione con Hally dalla quale ha appena scoperto di aspettare un figlio non desiderato.
Hanah Price è un sergente della polizia di Whitkirk nonchè figlia dell'ormai compianto Colin Price anchesso poliziotto.
Una telefonata sconvolge il tranquillo mondo di Neil,suo padre è morto,apparentemente suicida,Neil si reca a casa sua e trova una copia di un libro,con all'interno un fiore nero.
questo libro racconta la storia di una bambina di sei anni,che al contrario di quello che succede spesso nelle storie dell'orrore anziche sparire..appare...e ha una storiaa da raccontare.
Ma che succede se la storia di questa ragazzina è simile a fatti di cronaca realmente accaduti?e se i personaggi del libro sono molto,davvero troppo simili a persone reali?
Neil pensa di essere diventato paranoico ma quando Ally sparisce e lui viene contattato da un uomo che lo minaccia la paura si fa concreta e lui dovrà capire che cosa è finzione e cosa non lo è.
Questo è il secondo romanzo di Mosby che leggo,il primo è stato 50/50 killer un libro che avevo apprezzato tantissimo e che è finito dritto dritto nella classifica dei miei thriller preferiti.
devo dire che una caratteristica di Mosby è quella di creare romanzi particolarmente intricati dal punto di vista della trama e dove ogni pezzetto del puzzle va perfettamente a incastrarsi con gli altri,ma il lettore non se ne accorge,finchè non ha una visione piu ampia e si trova davanti a una storia che per quanto surreale è ben costruita e funziona.
In questo caso la narrazione è particolarmente intricata per via del romanzo nel romanzo,leggeremo infatti interi capitoli de "i fiori neri" e questo ci aiuterà a fare chiarezza sulla storia e sui personaggi.
Devo dire che nonostante il sistema narrativo particolare si tratta di un thriller scorrevole e ben costruito,di cui è veramente difficile parlare senza rischiare di spoilerare eventi o fatti importanti perchè davvero ricco di colpi di scena.
Apprezzo l'ingegno di questo scrittore,che cerca di uscire dai soliti schemi del thriller e di sperimentare,osando qualcosa di particolare.
Nel complesso questo romanzo mi è piaciuto,nonostante abbia le sue pecche,per esempio l'autore non ha particolarmente caratterizzato i suoi personaggi,forse per non rendere pesante un romanzo gia di per se complicato.
Anche le ambientazioni sono pressoche inesistenti a livello descrittivo(esclusa la fattoria),
Inoltre il principio e la parte centrale del libro mi sono sembrate costruite meglio rispetto al finale che mi è sembrato un po affrettato.
September 17, 2017
You can translate this review on: http://labibliotecadidrusie.blogspot.it/
Voto: 8/10
Un bel libro, anche se a me non è piaciuto proprio in toto, riconosco che è a suo modo coinvolgente. Non originalissimo forse, però ha tenuto la mia testa un bel po' all'erta. L'intreccio è notevole e ammetto che, se non avessi prestato attenzione, in certi momenti mi sarei persa. O meglio, a tre quarti di libro mi sono effettivamente persa, ma perché mancava un elemento che viene fuori nell'epilogo e che mi aveva messa fuori strada.
Ciò che ho amato di più è il libro nel libro, che però è la vera storia. Che si ripete una, due, tre volte. So di non essere chiara, ma vorrei incuriosirvi senza fare spoiler.
Inoltre, in genere, si legge e si scrive di persone scomparse e più ritrovate. Non di bambine comparse e mai più cercate.
Ebbene sì, nessuno cerca la bambina che compare quella mattina. Può sembrare strano, eppure è così e la spiegazione è stata decisamente buona anche se non ottima. Lo dico perché avrei voluto maggiori approfondimenti sul 'cattivo' della storia e sulla sua psicologia. Invece rimane in ombra e il suo agire, per quanto chiaro, non è supportato da motivi. O meglio, chiaramente lo è, ma il lettore non ne ha che una blanda conoscenza.
Il finale forse è un po' sbrigativo e leggermente confuso.
I personaggi sono davvero molti (e ad un certo punto qualcuno mi si è un po' confuso, soprattutto tra quelli del libro e quelli del libro nel libro), ma Neil emerge su tutti e, nonostante tutti i suoi difetti, mi è piaciuto particolarmente. Ho trovato realistici i suoi dubbi, le sue perplessità, i suoi timori verso la propria compagna e ciò che lei vorrebbe.
Hannah invece mi è piaciuta un filo meno. Forse rimane un po' più defilata, o ha un carattere che non mi ha coinvolta.
Tutti gli altri sono molto più vaghi a parte notizie sparse, ma di alcuni avrei preferito saperne di più. Ad esempio sulla donna misteriosa. Sì, viene rivelato chi è, ma avrei preferito che l'autore l'avesse seguita di più. La rivelazione finale sa un po' di appiccicato lì giusto per dare un senso alla sua presenza.
Il romanzo alterna più filoni e momenti temporali diversi ed è capitato che mi perdessi un po'. L'utilizzo di un font diverso per il libro nel libro non sempre è stato utile a fare chiarezza. in alcuni momenti le due storie sono così simili che mi sono perfino chiesta quale delle due fosse quella 'vera' nella finzione della storia. Anche le tempistiche non mi sono sembrate ottimali con momenti davvero lenti e un finale un po' troppo veloce.
A parte questi elementi il racconto è scorrevole, intrigante e tiene il lettore incollato alle pagine. Sarebbe stato davvero perfetto con un po' di accuratezza in più.
Voto: 8/10
Un bel libro, anche se a me non è piaciuto proprio in toto, riconosco che è a suo modo coinvolgente. Non originalissimo forse, però ha tenuto la mia testa un bel po' all'erta. L'intreccio è notevole e ammetto che, se non avessi prestato attenzione, in certi momenti mi sarei persa. O meglio, a tre quarti di libro mi sono effettivamente persa, ma perché mancava un elemento che viene fuori nell'epilogo e che mi aveva messa fuori strada.
Ciò che ho amato di più è il libro nel libro, che però è la vera storia. Che si ripete una, due, tre volte. So di non essere chiara, ma vorrei incuriosirvi senza fare spoiler.
Inoltre, in genere, si legge e si scrive di persone scomparse e più ritrovate. Non di bambine comparse e mai più cercate.
Ebbene sì, nessuno cerca la bambina che compare quella mattina. Può sembrare strano, eppure è così e la spiegazione è stata decisamente buona anche se non ottima. Lo dico perché avrei voluto maggiori approfondimenti sul 'cattivo' della storia e sulla sua psicologia. Invece rimane in ombra e il suo agire, per quanto chiaro, non è supportato da motivi. O meglio, chiaramente lo è, ma il lettore non ne ha che una blanda conoscenza.
Il finale forse è un po' sbrigativo e leggermente confuso.
I personaggi sono davvero molti (e ad un certo punto qualcuno mi si è un po' confuso, soprattutto tra quelli del libro e quelli del libro nel libro), ma Neil emerge su tutti e, nonostante tutti i suoi difetti, mi è piaciuto particolarmente. Ho trovato realistici i suoi dubbi, le sue perplessità, i suoi timori verso la propria compagna e ciò che lei vorrebbe.
Hannah invece mi è piaciuta un filo meno. Forse rimane un po' più defilata, o ha un carattere che non mi ha coinvolta.
Tutti gli altri sono molto più vaghi a parte notizie sparse, ma di alcuni avrei preferito saperne di più. Ad esempio sulla donna misteriosa. Sì, viene rivelato chi è, ma avrei preferito che l'autore l'avesse seguita di più. La rivelazione finale sa un po' di appiccicato lì giusto per dare un senso alla sua presenza.
Il romanzo alterna più filoni e momenti temporali diversi ed è capitato che mi perdessi un po'. L'utilizzo di un font diverso per il libro nel libro non sempre è stato utile a fare chiarezza. in alcuni momenti le due storie sono così simili che mi sono perfino chiesta quale delle due fosse quella 'vera' nella finzione della storia. Anche le tempistiche non mi sono sembrate ottimali con momenti davvero lenti e un finale un po' troppo veloce.
A parte questi elementi il racconto è scorrevole, intrigante e tiene il lettore incollato alle pagine. Sarebbe stato davvero perfetto con un po' di accuratezza in più.
February 13, 2020
"Das ist nicht die Geschichte von einem kleinen Mädchen, das verschwindet,[...] sondern die Geschichte von einem kleinen Mädchen, das zurückkommt." S. 389
Neils schwangere Frau wird entführt, kurz nach dem sein Vater eines mysteriösen Todes starb. Handelte es sich um Selbstmord? Was will der Entführer und welche Rolle spielt der Roman "Die schwarze Blume", welchen er im Arbeitszimmer seines Vaters findet? Dann taucht ein Mädchen auf, das eine schwarze Blume in der Hand hält, genau wie in dem Roman, dessen Autor ermordet wurde.
Dieses Buch war ganz schön verwirrend. Es ist quasi ein Buch bzw. eine Geschichte in einer Geschichte und der Leser wird im Verlauf an die Wahrheit und Fiktion des Buches herangeführt. Dabei sind immer wieder Auszüge aus dem Werk "Die schwarze Blume" eingebunden. Dadurch war das Ganze etwas Besonderes und spannend, wie alles am Ende zusammengeführt wurde.
Neils schwangere Frau wird entführt, kurz nach dem sein Vater eines mysteriösen Todes starb. Handelte es sich um Selbstmord? Was will der Entführer und welche Rolle spielt der Roman "Die schwarze Blume", welchen er im Arbeitszimmer seines Vaters findet? Dann taucht ein Mädchen auf, das eine schwarze Blume in der Hand hält, genau wie in dem Roman, dessen Autor ermordet wurde.
Dieses Buch war ganz schön verwirrend. Es ist quasi ein Buch bzw. eine Geschichte in einer Geschichte und der Leser wird im Verlauf an die Wahrheit und Fiktion des Buches herangeführt. Dabei sind immer wieder Auszüge aus dem Werk "Die schwarze Blume" eingebunden. Dadurch war das Ganze etwas Besonderes und spannend, wie alles am Ende zusammengeführt wurde.
December 8, 2017
Here is a story told by an author who presents his novel as a guidepost to what really happens. The trouble is the author committed suicide and Neil Dawson, who faces the real mystery, also discovers his father committed suicide at the same place as the author.
Then there is DS Hannah Price, who is mourning her father and honoring him by following him into the police force. As Neil tries to find the answer to his father's death, Hannah is on a journey of her own. It is inevitable the two, after many twists and turns, come out on a straighter path and discover the truth.
It may seem confusing in the beginning, but if you hang in there, it will soon make sense and captivate you. You will solve the mystery of "not a story about a little girl who disappears" ... but "the story of a little girl who comes back."
Then there is DS Hannah Price, who is mourning her father and honoring him by following him into the police force. As Neil tries to find the answer to his father's death, Hannah is on a journey of her own. It is inevitable the two, after many twists and turns, come out on a straighter path and discover the truth.
It may seem confusing in the beginning, but if you hang in there, it will soon make sense and captivate you. You will solve the mystery of "not a story about a little girl who disappears" ... but "the story of a little girl who comes back."
May 29, 2018
This is the fourth Steve Mosby mystery I've read. I've liked three of them very much, but this is the second one I haven't. I did not care for the protagonist or the police officer. I found them a bit cliche and straight from Central Casting. The story is very frightening and compelling if a tiny bit confusing at times. There are a number of threads running through the story, and occasionally I had trouble keeping the names straight. That fault was mine but at times this book was a bit boring and that was not. Ultimately, whilst I wanted to know the ending of this book, I didn't really care about it very much. I certainly didn't care about any of the somewhat one dimensional characters. I think Mr. Mosby's later books are terrific both as novels and as mysteries, but if you asked me I would suggest you give his earlier ones a miss.
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