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The Obituary Writer
Nick Donaghue, a young, handsome obituary writer for The Times, leads a charmed existence until he is caught up in one of Britain's worst ever train crashes. When he survives unscathed, his friends and colleagues consider him the luckiest man alive. Only Nick knows the truth - that he is tormented by horrific nightmares. When they start to appear grimly prescient, his meticulously constructed urban life is derailed.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 26, 2015
This was a really enjoyable read - well-written and paced. It's a novel which challenges the reader in a good way, because it doesn't follow a standard plot that you might expect from the cover blurb or genre (though it would be difficult to put this into a single genre). I was genuinely thrown off the scent, which was very pleasing. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
November 20, 2017
The novel starts off well when Nick, an obituary writer for The Times survives unscathed from a train crash only to suffer dreams that foretell the death of others. At this point it seems to fit the horror/mystery genre but like Nick's train crash it comes off the rails and starts to head for romance calling at medical melodrama.
In the second part of the book Nick moves to Cornwall where he meets Sasha. and here the novel jumps around a bit and gives the reader some amazing coincidences.
Here we discover Nick is a frustrated novelist. I think this mirrors Lauren St. John own writing wishes in that she wants to be known for more than a children's author.
For this reason I thought the sex scenes were used to say 'look I write for adults as well.' and the use of the f word didn't seem to fit some of the characters.
Having said all that I kept going because I wanted to know what will happen to Nick and Sasha at the end especially Nick as he's an engaging character.
In the second part of the book Nick moves to Cornwall where he meets Sasha. and here the novel jumps around a bit and gives the reader some amazing coincidences.
Here we discover Nick is a frustrated novelist. I think this mirrors Lauren St. John own writing wishes in that she wants to be known for more than a children's author.
For this reason I thought the sex scenes were used to say 'look I write for adults as well.' and the use of the f word didn't seem to fit some of the characters.
Having said all that I kept going because I wanted to know what will happen to Nick and Sasha at the end especially Nick as he's an engaging character.
July 19, 2013
Being heralded as a crime title is a mistake most whole heartedly! Lauren St John has exited the world of Children's fiction with this exceedingly beautiful novel as her début in adult fiction.
Nick Donaghue is living a materialistic life in London trying to encapsulate all that he promised an early tutor he would. A life in writing about death seemed to be working well with The Times newspaper and his success came from his being able to celebrate the lives lost of those who had passed.
A chance encounter on a train, he'd managed to catch later than he'd have liked, led to an unexpected friendship though the most catastrophic crash that London trains had experienced. Surviving albeit bruised heavily he visits Matthew in the hospital only to realise guilt over his survival. Nightmares started shortly after and deja vu occurrences led Nick to believe he was in some way psychic. From writing about deaths to then dreaming them happening took Nick to feel the need to escape London, his life and encase himself in solitude.
Eliciting the wilds of the coast and his need to be free from his nightmares another chance encounter brings Sasha into his life. Suddenly, Life is worth living though the shadow of a recurring vision still haunts his days.
I can't enthuse enough that everyone should read this! A sorbet read in some manner whilst gripping you by the collar and not allowing you exist without it. "More" is all I can shout!
Nick Donaghue is living a materialistic life in London trying to encapsulate all that he promised an early tutor he would. A life in writing about death seemed to be working well with The Times newspaper and his success came from his being able to celebrate the lives lost of those who had passed.
A chance encounter on a train, he'd managed to catch later than he'd have liked, led to an unexpected friendship though the most catastrophic crash that London trains had experienced. Surviving albeit bruised heavily he visits Matthew in the hospital only to realise guilt over his survival. Nightmares started shortly after and deja vu occurrences led Nick to believe he was in some way psychic. From writing about deaths to then dreaming them happening took Nick to feel the need to escape London, his life and encase himself in solitude.
Eliciting the wilds of the coast and his need to be free from his nightmares another chance encounter brings Sasha into his life. Suddenly, Life is worth living though the shadow of a recurring vision still haunts his days.
I can't enthuse enough that everyone should read this! A sorbet read in some manner whilst gripping you by the collar and not allowing you exist without it. "More" is all I can shout!
July 19, 2016
Usually books that are aimed at the Nicholas Sparks section of fiction don’t get my attention but this one did.
I didn’t realised it was pegged as such until I’d been completely absorbed. It’s a beautiful read about life changing events, premonition and inevitability... A book about however much we want to control every aspect of our life we can’t.
I didn’t realised it was pegged as such until I’d been completely absorbed. It’s a beautiful read about life changing events, premonition and inevitability... A book about however much we want to control every aspect of our life we can’t.
February 1, 2014
I don't think this is a great work of literature but perhaps my years reading and decoding Times obituaries and fondness for wild Cornish retreats has biased me to a more favourable review - at the heart is a damaged writer and a woman he meets (with a mysterious horse - probably too much melodrama here ...) but it was a decent light holiday read with a twist in the tail/tale.
March 28, 2016
A promising start which could have evolved into an interesting psychological thriller but instead deteriorated into just another generic romance.
I found the whole psychic bit unconvincing and I skim-read the last third of the book because it was so plodding and predictable and I couldn't wait for it to finish.
I found the whole psychic bit unconvincing and I skim-read the last third of the book because it was so plodding and predictable and I couldn't wait for it to finish.
January 30, 2015
An intriguing page-turner start, that slows down one-third of the way in, turns into a love story. The ending is unusual - someone dies; the ending puts the book slightly ahead of the run-of-the-mill stories.
November 20, 2017
Really liked this. An unusual storyline, which keeps you wondering throughout. Perhaps not the ending you are expecting, or indeed wanting, but still very good. Unfortunately, it looks as though Lauren St John has yet to write another adult novel following this, so I will have to wait a while to read any more by her.
August 3, 2020
I enjoyed this rather unique novel by Lauren St. John. I was introduced to her books by my niece who adored them. The only reason this book has a 3 instead of a four is there was just a little too much explanation in some parts. It is a great read, and I loved the idea.
July 31, 2017
Very early on the story took me off-guard from my preconceptions after reading the back cover and never once relented, holding my attention to the very end.
October 23, 2017
What a great book!
June 16, 2018
enjoyable read, disappointed with the ending.
June 26, 2019
It is so full of cliches. Where is this lonely place near lands end that never seems to be overwhelmed with tourists? Where is the tumbledown cottage in Cornwall near the sea? Sadly this only encourages the lovely people who want to buy a cheap place in Cornwall to move here and outbid the local people who have to do three jobs in order to feed themselves, not because they are fighting demons from a dead Father. How does she feed all those horses? Etc etc. The nurse wouldn’t have had any interest in killing her rival. Give nurses more nouse than that. Lots of nurses think about what that nurse did but never would, not for being an ex lover of her ex lover. Give them some professionalism. If they deal with death daily they have better things to do than kill their ex rivals whilst drinking. Despite that it was an easy read and it was ok. That shows that the story was essentially good, despite the cliches. Hence 3 star rather than less.
January 15, 2014
I quite liked this book, there were some nice ideas in it, but it was also full of missed opportunities.
For a start, the life changing moment of the train crash at the start is dealt with in less than a page. We later find out that he was the only person to escape virtually unscathed, but the immediate aftermath should have been a couple of chapters so that the reader really understands the physical and emotional impact upon him. Less than a page followed by "Two days later, he was back at work."
Things continue to move at a sensible pace for a while, but once Nick (the main character) relocates to Cornwall we then get massive jump cuts where you feel that the printer accidentally deleted some chapters from the document. For example, he splits up with his girlfriend Sasha, there is a double misunderstanding which prevented them from getting back together, they just start to discuss it and suddenly, new chapter, "They were married on Saturday."
The best part of the book, and one that does not seem rushed, is when, whilst Sasha is recovering from chemotherapy (again, a chapter ended with lump discovery and on the next page she was having chemo) and a crippled friend (crippled in the train crash) and his wife come up for a few days, and it's beautifully told, the characters come across as wonderfully rounded, and they are in a short moment in time that is clearly significant for all of them which is a joy to read.
I did not see the end coming, it was definitely a twist but not one that, again, four pages from the end, impacted enough on me.
So in short, it's quite a good book but it needed to be longer by a good third for the jumps in narrative not to seem forced (it's almost like an editor said "it's your first book for adult readers, it can be no more than 300 pages long).
For a start, the life changing moment of the train crash at the start is dealt with in less than a page. We later find out that he was the only person to escape virtually unscathed, but the immediate aftermath should have been a couple of chapters so that the reader really understands the physical and emotional impact upon him. Less than a page followed by "Two days later, he was back at work."
Things continue to move at a sensible pace for a while, but once Nick (the main character) relocates to Cornwall we then get massive jump cuts where you feel that the printer accidentally deleted some chapters from the document. For example, he splits up with his girlfriend Sasha, there is a double misunderstanding which prevented them from getting back together, they just start to discuss it and suddenly, new chapter, "They were married on Saturday."
The best part of the book, and one that does not seem rushed, is when, whilst Sasha is recovering from chemotherapy (again, a chapter ended with lump discovery and on the next page she was having chemo) and a crippled friend (crippled in the train crash) and his wife come up for a few days, and it's beautifully told, the characters come across as wonderfully rounded, and they are in a short moment in time that is clearly significant for all of them which is a joy to read.
I did not see the end coming, it was definitely a twist but not one that, again, four pages from the end, impacted enough on me.
So in short, it's quite a good book but it needed to be longer by a good third for the jumps in narrative not to seem forced (it's almost like an editor said "it's your first book for adult readers, it can be no more than 300 pages long).
February 24, 2016
One day, Nick Donaghue, an obituary writer for THE TIMES, is on his way to work, when he is involved in a horrible train crash where he is the only one escaping unharmed. While everybody else thinks Nick to be very fortunate, his life is turning into a literal nightmare. After months of sleepless nights, he moves from London to an old beach house in Cornwall where he runs into Sasha and has to give up his notion of living a quiet and secluded life.
It is hard to put this novel into a literary genre. The Obituary Writer starts out as a mystery with thriller elements, then it turns into a love story. This would have been okay. Unfortunately, the romance is soon sprinkled with paragraphs right out of an erotic novel that seem utterly out of place. And to top it all off, there’s a little bit of crime here, and some there. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with mixing genres if the mix is homogeneous. In this case it isn’t and it seems like the author wanted to try out all these different genres to see how they worked for her.
Other than that, The Obituary Writer is an entertaining novel. It sucks you in right at the beginning and holds your attention for quite some time. The middle is a little slow, but the narrative takes up speed again in the last third of the book.
While we get to know Nick Donaghue’s character – his feelings, fears and doubts – very closely, most of the other characters stay in the background. It would have been nice to get a better understanding of Sasha, the woman who attracts Nick’s attention.
If you are as drawn to this novel by its beautiful cover as I was, you might as well give it a try, but it will not be a smooth ride, that’s for sure. And if you’ve already read The Obituary Writer, I’d like to know what you thought about the ending. But no spoilers please!
It is hard to put this novel into a literary genre. The Obituary Writer starts out as a mystery with thriller elements, then it turns into a love story. This would have been okay. Unfortunately, the romance is soon sprinkled with paragraphs right out of an erotic novel that seem utterly out of place. And to top it all off, there’s a little bit of crime here, and some there. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with mixing genres if the mix is homogeneous. In this case it isn’t and it seems like the author wanted to try out all these different genres to see how they worked for her.
Other than that, The Obituary Writer is an entertaining novel. It sucks you in right at the beginning and holds your attention for quite some time. The middle is a little slow, but the narrative takes up speed again in the last third of the book.
While we get to know Nick Donaghue’s character – his feelings, fears and doubts – very closely, most of the other characters stay in the background. It would have been nice to get a better understanding of Sasha, the woman who attracts Nick’s attention.
If you are as drawn to this novel by its beautiful cover as I was, you might as well give it a try, but it will not be a smooth ride, that’s for sure. And if you’ve already read The Obituary Writer, I’d like to know what you thought about the ending. But no spoilers please!
March 31, 2015
I borrowed this book from my local library on a whim (support your local library!!!) so I didn't really know what to expect, I was just drawn by the cover image and the blurb.
Reading The Obituary Writer is a little like rolling down a bumpy hill, sometimes you're stuck on a ledge in a certain time period for a while and then the next thing you know you're falling through space and it's 2 months later. I think it could have done with being a little longer to allow better pace so that the relationships that build are more meaningful.
There are some twists that I think are a bit boring and overdone, but I won't spoil them, and the ending is bittersweet and unexpected.
Character wise the women are very 1 dimensional. They're happy, they're 'pretty once' or their hair is blowing in the wind (yawn). The men are businessey and all obsessed with the 'big smoke' but Nick grows on you as you read about his story.
Overall not a bad book, but not a favourite. If you've been churning through a lot of heavy or difficult texts then this is a good respite from that.
Reading The Obituary Writer is a little like rolling down a bumpy hill, sometimes you're stuck on a ledge in a certain time period for a while and then the next thing you know you're falling through space and it's 2 months later. I think it could have done with being a little longer to allow better pace so that the relationships that build are more meaningful.
There are some twists that I think are a bit boring and overdone, but I won't spoil them, and the ending is bittersweet and unexpected.
Character wise the women are very 1 dimensional. They're happy, they're 'pretty once' or their hair is blowing in the wind (yawn). The men are businessey and all obsessed with the 'big smoke' but Nick grows on you as you read about his story.
Overall not a bad book, but not a favourite. If you've been churning through a lot of heavy or difficult texts then this is a good respite from that.
October 10, 2013
I would definitely say that this is not a crime novel. I'm not sure what I expected but having been recommended to me by a colleague as the best book she had read this year I was very keen to read it. I was not disappointed. It kept me gripped from start to finish and well deserving of five stars.
March 12, 2015
I agree. This was an entertaining book with an interesting setting in Cornwall, but so much more could have been done. The characters were quite well developed but the descriptions were not hugely evocative..
December 7, 2013
What a gorgeous, thought provoking book. The only thing I'd warn people about is that the ending is so sad. Can't wait to hear more from this author!
December 26, 2013
Most beautifully written, thought provoking book. It kept my attention from the very first page. I smiled, I cried. Strongly recommended!
January 19, 2014
Predictable.
May 30, 2019
Not my cup of tea!
April 3, 2015
This book was compelling, eerie, and I struggled to put it down. Part scary, part romance, part mystery. I found the ending unsatisfying yet haunting. It is beautifully written.
May 17, 2015
Was a fantastic read but disappointed in the ending. Read this in one day - just couldn't put it down, but was left feeling that I wanted more....
August 11, 2016
really enjoyed ready this book but there is room for improvement on some parts
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews