A Little Death

by Laura Wilson

London, 1955. Three bodies are found in a house – but when the police search for the murder weapon, vital evidence is destroyed. One of the victims is former society beauty Georgina Gresham, prime suspect in the notorious murder of her husband, James, almost thirty years earlier. Beside her lie the bodies of her brother Edmund and housekeeper Ada.

But there is a link with the past. In the 1890s, in a beautiful garden, three children played together. Their lives were secure, their future certain – until the youngest child was found with fatal head injuries…

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction, German Literature, Thriller

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Laura Wilson is an English crime-writer based in London, where she was born and raised. She has degrees in English Literature form Somerville College, Oxford, and University College London, and has worked as a teacher and editor of non-fiction.

Many of her novels have either a historical setting or a distinct historical connection, and often have split or dual narratives. Her first novel, A Little Death was shortlsited for a CWA Dagger award, and her fifth, The Lover was short listed for both the CWA Gold Dagger and the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger.

Reviews

[Tim Orfanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Γενικά, πρόκειται για ένα έντονα ψυχογραφικό μυθιστόρημα μυστηρίου, το οποίο εντυπώνεται στη μνήμη με έναν περίεργο τρόπο λόγω της 'δύναμης' του κεντρικού θέματος - αυτός είναι, ίσως, και ο λόγος που έχει διχάσει τους αναγνώστες αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας, ενώ, από την άλλη πλευρά, ήταν υποψήφιο για 3 λογοτεχνικά βραβεία.

Η Wilson δείχνει να έχει μελετήσει σε βάθος την βρετανική κουλτούρα της περιόδου 1890-1955, η οποία αποτυπώνεται με εντυπωσιακό, όσο και νοσηρό τρόπο στο συγκεκριμένο μυθιστόρημα-χρονικό της αριστοκρατικής οικογένειας Λόμαξ - η ηθική 'παρακμή' των ηρώων θα μπορούσε να παραπέμψει σε βιβλία του Φιτστζέραλντ, ενώ η 'ψυχεδελική' και μακάβρια αίσθηση του κινδύνου που δημιουργείται στον αναγνώστη είναι σε αρκετά σημεία παρόμοια με εκείνη στο 'Στρίψιμο της βίδας' του Τζέιμς. Οι 3 κεντρικοί χαρακτήρες είναι 'μπλεγμένοι στον ιστό της αράχνης' και παλεύουν να αντιμετωπίσουν τα απωθημένα και τις εσωτερικές τους συγκρούσεις.

Το βιβλίο έχει καινοτομική δομή, αφού βασίζεται, κάθε φορά, σε 3 διαφορετικές εκδοχές των πιο σημαντικών γεγονότων, αντίστοιχα, από τον κάθε ένα από τους 3 βασικούς ήρωες - δίνει την αίσθηση ημερολογίου.

Μοναδικά αρνητικά στοιχεία οι πολυάριθμοι θάνατοι και η έντονα καταθλιπτική 'ατμόσφαιρα' του 2ου μέρους του βιβλίου.

Βαθμολογία: 4,3/5 ή 8,6/10.

Υ.Γ. Θα αρέσει πολύ σε αναγνώστες που προτιμούν το βρετανικό 'μαύρο' χιούμορ, και βρίσκουν ενδιαφέρουσα την βρετανική κουλτούρα και κοινωνική ζωή της Βικτωριανής εποχής, της Μπελ Επόκ, της δεκαετίας του '20, του '50 και των Δύο Παγκοσμίων Πολέμων.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found myself in a race against time to finish this novel. I was in a car on a journey home and the light was fading. I ended up in darkness using the light on my mobile phone to finish it - and I HAD to finish it. It's an intriguing and captivating tale concerning a series of murders over a long period of time and the parts played in them by a trio of characters - brother and sister, Georgina and Edmund and their servant, Ada. It's a page turner!

[Petros Sarantakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το πολύ καλό αυτό βιβλίο ξεκινά με ένα κλασσικό ερώτημα αστυνομικού μυθιστορήματος : ποιος το έκανε. Το μυστήριο του κλειστού δωματίου διαρκεί ως το τέλος. Μέχρι τότε οι τρεις νεκροί και πρωταγωνιστές αφηγούνται την ιστορία της οικογένειας από τη δική τους σκοπιά. Είναι το τέλος της βικτωριανής εποχής και τα χρόνια πριν τον Α παγκόσμιο πόλεμο που διαμορφώνουν τους τρεις χαρακτήρες: Την πιστή υπηρέτρια που ακολουθεί μοιρολατρικά την καταστροφή της οικογένειας. Τον ευάλωτο,ασταθή και αδύναμο να αντιδράσει στη θύελα Έντμουντ. Κυρίως όμως την ασύδοτη, αντισυμβατική και αλλαζονική Τζωρτζίνα

[Susann · Rating 2 out of 5]

The rather long wait for a big revelation that never comes.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The police find the bodies of three elderly recluses amid the musty, hoarded belongings in a 1950's London town house. The victims - one man and two women - have all been shot to death. However, when the death scene yields no clues as to what might have occurred, the police conclude that one of the victims shot the others before committing suicide. But which one? And why?

The story is told from the view points of the three main characters, the three elderly recluses themselves, whose bodies were recently discovered by the police. Georgina Gresham - maverick and manipulative - a former society beauty, had been a prime suspect in her husband's notorious murder thirty years before, but was ultimately acquitted. Georgina's brother, Edmund - her lifelong confidante and companion - loves his sister dearly and will do anything she asks him to do. Ada - their long-suffering housekeeper - is salty, shrewd, and slowly, silently witnessing her life pass her by, until...

Buried in the trio's youth is the fatal seed whose dark tendrils overlaid Victorian country summers, the Great War, the Roaring Twenties...and all the cravings, fantasies, and twists of fate that would chain them together in life...and in one explosive moment of violent death.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all rather quirky and got up to all kinds of shenanigans throughout the story. I did find it slightly difficult getting into the pace of the story, but that might just be because of a lack of concentration on my part. I ultimately picked up the threads of the mystery very quickly during my reading and gave A Little Death by Laura Wilson an A+! In my opinion, this was an excellent debut, and I have put Laura Wilson's next two books on my Wish List.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

They lie, three elderly recluses shot to death, in a musty 1950s London town house crammed with hoarded belongings. When the death scene yields no clues, the police conclude that one of the victims shot the others before committing suicide. But which one? And why? Georgina Gresham, maverick and manipulative, a former society beauty, prime suspect in her husband's notorious murder thirty years before? Her brother, Edmund, her lifelong confidant? Or Ada, their housekeeper, salty, shrewd, and long-suffering?

The story is told through the view points of the three main characters. Georgina is very beautiful but very spiteful. She comes across as a ‘Rebecca’ type character always wanting her own way and to me she wasn’t a very nice person at all. Edmund her brother who will do anything for his sister and follows her about like a lap dog. Ada the long suffering housekeeper who lives with them, never taking her chances when she could have done to have something in her own life.

The story not only has the death of the three main characters but also has the death of little brother Freddie and the husband of Georgina, Mr James. I did guess who had killed Freddie but didn’t guess at the twist which leads to the death of James.

I really enjoy books by Laura Wilson as they are well written and keep me turning the pages.

Would I recommend this book, yes I would as it will keep you guessing till the last pages.

[Βρόσγος Άντυ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Πως γίνεται ένα βιβλίο με τόσους φόνους να μην είναι αστυνομικό οεο;
Η πλοκή εξελίσσεται μέσα από την παράλληλη αφήγηση των πρωταγωνιστων της ιστορίας που ο καθένας φωτίζει τα γεγονότα από τη σκοπιά του.
Επικεντρώνεται ιδιαίτερα στον ψυχολογικό παραγοντα, κυριως της Τζορτζινας και του αδερφού της Έντμουντ αλλά και της καμαριέρας Άντα που από την αρχή της ιστορίας μαθαίνουμε ότι είναι νεκροί. Η έλλειψη αποδεικτικών στοιχειων οδηγεί την αστυνομία να συμπεράνει ότι ένας από τους τρεις ήταν ο δολοφόνος που στη συνέχεια αυτοκτόνησε.
Οι χαρακτήρες είναι πολύ προσεκτικά σμιλεμενοι. Η ιστορία προχωράει αργά και τα μυστικά απόκαλύπτονται σταδιακά, καθώς οι πρωταγωνιστές και οι δευτερευοντες χαρακτήρες ξεγυμνωνονται στον αναγνώστη απόκαλύπτοντας ένα αρρωστημένο σκηνικό.
Σαν τελική ετυμηγορία μπορώ να πω ότι μου άρεσε αρκετά. Ιδιαίτερο βιβλίο όχι για όλα τα γούστα.
Βαθμολογία 3.5/5

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this on my bookcase, not quite sure how i came to possess it, but thought i would give it a read.
I like to try and give every book a chance, but i really struggled with this one. The plot was flimsy, if not non existant. And the characters are totally unrelatable. It takes a lot for me to give a book only one star, but this book managed it.
I would not reccomend this book, and will be giving it to the charity shop.

[Merrilie Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A crime of the rather old fashioned sort, a country house setting with some upper class protagonists and a voyeur / housekeeper with her own set of standards keep the story unfolding with the characters revealing backstories as they go along. All in all it made for a good rather than a great read but there were one or two surprises alon g tje way to keep on e interested !

[Maria-E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Familiendrama aus der Zeit des späte 19. Jahrhunderts bis in die 50-12 des 20. Jahrhundert. Abhängigkeiten aus unterschiedlichen Gründen. Interessant, wie die Ereignisse aus den unterschiedlichen Perspektiven der Protagonisten geschildert werden. Gut zu lesen.

[Lena Unterwegs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein gut zu lesender Krimi, aber kann mir jemand sagen, warum im Klappentext steht, dass sie 1955 tot aufgefunden werden, aber in der Überschrift des letzten Kapitels in dem die Tötung geschieht 1995 steht?
Danke!

[Alex Sinfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story with disturbing details and well fitting ending.

[Priyanka · Rating 3 out of 5]

ending totally fell flat for me but there were a few surprises along the way and I enjoyed the pov switches.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The police find the bodies of three elderly recluses amid the musty, hoarded belongings in a 1950's London town house. The victims - one man and two women - have all been shot to death. However, when the death scene yields no clues as to what might have occurred, the police conclude that one of the victims shot the others before committing suicide. But which one? And why?

The story is told from the view points of the three main characters, the three elderly recluses themselves, whose bodies were recently discovered by the police. Georgina Gresham - maverick and manipulative - a former society beauty, had been a prime suspect in her husband's notorious murder thirty years before, but was ultimately acquitted. Georgina's brother, Edmund - her lifelong confidante and companion - loves his sister dearly and will do anything she asks him to do. Ada - their long-suffering housekeeper - is salty, shrewd, and slowly, silently witnessing her life pass her by, until...

Buried in the trio's youth is the fatal seed whose dark tendrils overlaid Victorian country summers, the Great War, the Roaring Twenties...and all the cravings, fantasies, and twists of fate that would chain them together in life...and in one explosive moment of violent death.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all rather quirky and got up to all kinds of shenanigans throughout the story. I did find it slightly difficult getting into the pace of the story, but that might just be because of a lack of concentration on my part. I ultimately picked up the threads of the mystery very quickly during my reading and gave A Little Death by Laura Wilson an A+! In my opinion, this was an excellent debut, and I have put Laura Wilson's next two books on my Wish List.

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting tale, told in chapters by each of the three main characters, who have been found dead. It took me a while to get really caught up in the story, but eventually I was engrossed. The early childhoods of Edmund and Georgina were quite sad in different ways, and had a profound effect on their adult behavior. Ada, their housekeeper, was more loyal to them than they deserved, or would have expected. The book was well-written, I think, and I liked the way the story was told. If you like everything all neatly tied up, this may not be the book for you, but it had some very poignant descriptions of war.




Spoiler reminder for me:
G orch. It

[Gooddeeds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book - the descriptions of the life and attitudes of Victorian and Edwardian England was as interesting as the plot.

"It was shocking to hear William talking about the facts of life as if it was something you could just talk about."

Bought at Gateshead Oxfam and donated to South Shields BHF Shop.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a nice little historical mystery story following the lives of three characters from the late 1800s through the roaring 20s to their old age. It was a quick read & I really enjoyed it but was a little disappointed by the ending as the final revelation of whodunnit felt rushed and abrupt.

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again there is nothing wrong with this book but it just wasn't for me. The story is interesting, the writing flows but I wasn't interested enough in the characters and that is my personal taste not the author's.

The reader who enjoys historical mysteries might well enjoy this.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

really dark. but good.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, cozy fast read.

[Ayelet Waldman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler alert!!! Aren't we done with incest yet? Not to belittled the sufferers. But I'm so tired of it as a literary device.

[Andreas · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://andheu.blog.de/2009/05/13/klei...