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Spilling CID #8
Ondraaglijk
Als Gaby's vlucht naar huis opeens vanaf een ander vliegveld vertrekt, worden de passagiers van haar vlucht per bus vervoerd. Gaby raakt in gesprek met Lauren, een zenuwachtige jonge vrouw. Gaby komt er al snel achter dat het geen toeval is dat Lauren op haar vlucht zat, als Lauren eruit flapt dat een onschuldige man de gevangenis ingaat voor een moord die hij niet heeft gepleegd. Het slachtoffer is Francine, de vrouw van Gaby's grote liefde Tim. Tim heeft de moord op zijn vrouw bekend, en zelfs bewijs geleverd. Het enige dat ontbreekt is een motief: hij zegt geen idee te hebben waarom hij zijn vrouw heeft vermoord...
448 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2013
146 people are currently reading
2907 people want to read
About the author
Sophie Hannah
106 books4,510 followersSophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling writer of psychological crime fiction, published in 27 countries. In 2013, her latest novel, The Carrier, won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards. Two of Sophie’s crime novels, The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives, have been adapted for television and appeared on ITV1 under the series title Case Sensitive in 2011 and 2012. In 2004, Sophie won first prize in the Daphne Du Maurier Festival Short Story Competition for her suspense story The Octopus Nest, which is now published in her first collection of short stories, The Fantastic Book of Everybody’s Secrets.
Sophie has also published five collections of poetry. Her fifth, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the 2007 T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A-level and degree level across the UK. From 1997 to 1999 she was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, and between 1999 and 2001 she was a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She is forty-one and lives with her husband and children in Cambridge, where she is a Fellow Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College. She is currently working on a new challenge for the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective.
Sophie has also published five collections of poetry. Her fifth, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the 2007 T S Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A-level and degree level across the UK. From 1997 to 1999 she was Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge, and between 1999 and 2001 she was a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She is forty-one and lives with her husband and children in Cambridge, where she is a Fellow Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College. She is currently working on a new challenge for the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 437 reviews
July 27, 2013
Oh, Sophie!
Over the course of seven books and seven fiendishly complicated cases investigated by the Spilling police force we have had some ups and downs. There have been more fabulous stories, and even when there have been flaws they have been balanced by good things that have stopped the lows being too low.
Until now. There are good things in The Carrier, but they were weighed down by things that weren't so good, and things that just didn't work.
The premise was, as always, far-fetched and brilliant:
When her plane was delayed overnight, successful businesswoman Gaby Struthers stepped in to calm a young woman, an inexperienced traveller, who was distressed by the situation. They shared a hotel room, and as they spoke Gaby realised that Lauren was scared of her. She had no idea why.
And then Lauren began to speak about an innocent man who was going to prison for a murder he didn't commit. Gaby slowly realised that she was talking about the man she loved and lost.
Tim Breary had left his wife for Gaby, but something had gone horribly wrong between them, and when his wife suffered a devastating stroke he went home.
Now Francine was dead, Tim had confessed to her murder, and Lauren, her carer, insisted that he was innocent.
That was a set-up with potential.
But I struggled from the start, because I couldn't find anyone to identify with.
Usually I find Sophie Hannah's heroines intriguing: capable women faced with extraordinary situations, who want to find out, and who may not be entirely reliable. Gaby fitted the mould, but she was a little too cool, a little too capable, and it was a little too obvious that she wasn't telling all that she knew.
And there was no one else. Everyone involved in the Breary case was holding something back, and worse I didn't believe in any of them. Not the characters, and definitely not the relationships.
Why did Tim marry, stay with, return to, a ghastly, manipulative woman like Francine? Why did his friends, Kerry and Dan, turn their own lives upside-down to support them? What did Gaby stay in a relationship with Sean, when they didn't even like each other?
I have no answers. What I do have is a feeling that Sophie Hannah wanted to write about abusive relationships, but if that was the case she compromised that by working those stories into an ineffective crime story.
There were dialogues, interrogations, and letters written to a woman who would never be able to read them, that were psychologically pitch-perfect, and utterly readable, and there were moments when I was intrigued.
But the plot didn't expand and grow; there weren't the twists and turns that I had expected. Just one dramatic event near the end of the book, which was effective but a little forced.
And the business of 'The Carrier' was a bit of a side-issue. I suspect it was there to allow the author to thread her love of poetry though the story, and she did it well but it felt like a distraction, something else sitting where the development of the story and the characters should have been.
There were ideas that went undeveloped, there were loose ends, but I held on, in hope, until the very end.
The final resolution to the story was right.
But it made me realise that there was a simpler story, a story of dysfunctional relationships, a story of a particular type of crime, trying to get out of this rather large, rather messy book.
It leaves me wondering of Sophie Hannah is bored with the kind of books she's writing, and if she wants to write something different. If that is the case, I wish she would. I loved the books she wrote before she turned to crime fiction, and I even can remember being disappointed that she had gone down that route when I first spotted 'Little Face.'
And look how well moving away from crime fiction - albeit of a very different kind - has served Kate Atkinson!
But whatever Sophie Hannah writes next I'll give the benefit of the doubt, because while the 'The Carrier' is a disappointing book Sophie Hannah is still an interesting author.
Over the course of seven books and seven fiendishly complicated cases investigated by the Spilling police force we have had some ups and downs. There have been more fabulous stories, and even when there have been flaws they have been balanced by good things that have stopped the lows being too low.
Until now. There are good things in The Carrier, but they were weighed down by things that weren't so good, and things that just didn't work.
The premise was, as always, far-fetched and brilliant:
When her plane was delayed overnight, successful businesswoman Gaby Struthers stepped in to calm a young woman, an inexperienced traveller, who was distressed by the situation. They shared a hotel room, and as they spoke Gaby realised that Lauren was scared of her. She had no idea why.
And then Lauren began to speak about an innocent man who was going to prison for a murder he didn't commit. Gaby slowly realised that she was talking about the man she loved and lost.
Tim Breary had left his wife for Gaby, but something had gone horribly wrong between them, and when his wife suffered a devastating stroke he went home.
Now Francine was dead, Tim had confessed to her murder, and Lauren, her carer, insisted that he was innocent.
That was a set-up with potential.
But I struggled from the start, because I couldn't find anyone to identify with.
Usually I find Sophie Hannah's heroines intriguing: capable women faced with extraordinary situations, who want to find out, and who may not be entirely reliable. Gaby fitted the mould, but she was a little too cool, a little too capable, and it was a little too obvious that she wasn't telling all that she knew.
And there was no one else. Everyone involved in the Breary case was holding something back, and worse I didn't believe in any of them. Not the characters, and definitely not the relationships.
Why did Tim marry, stay with, return to, a ghastly, manipulative woman like Francine? Why did his friends, Kerry and Dan, turn their own lives upside-down to support them? What did Gaby stay in a relationship with Sean, when they didn't even like each other?
I have no answers. What I do have is a feeling that Sophie Hannah wanted to write about abusive relationships, but if that was the case she compromised that by working those stories into an ineffective crime story.
There were dialogues, interrogations, and letters written to a woman who would never be able to read them, that were psychologically pitch-perfect, and utterly readable, and there were moments when I was intrigued.
But the plot didn't expand and grow; there weren't the twists and turns that I had expected. Just one dramatic event near the end of the book, which was effective but a little forced.
And the business of 'The Carrier' was a bit of a side-issue. I suspect it was there to allow the author to thread her love of poetry though the story, and she did it well but it felt like a distraction, something else sitting where the development of the story and the characters should have been.
There were ideas that went undeveloped, there were loose ends, but I held on, in hope, until the very end.
The final resolution to the story was right.
But it made me realise that there was a simpler story, a story of dysfunctional relationships, a story of a particular type of crime, trying to get out of this rather large, rather messy book.
It leaves me wondering of Sophie Hannah is bored with the kind of books she's writing, and if she wants to write something different. If that is the case, I wish she would. I loved the books she wrote before she turned to crime fiction, and I even can remember being disappointed that she had gone down that route when I first spotted 'Little Face.'
And look how well moving away from crime fiction - albeit of a very different kind - has served Kate Atkinson!
But whatever Sophie Hannah writes next I'll give the benefit of the doubt, because while the 'The Carrier' is a disappointing book Sophie Hannah is still an interesting author.
September 1, 2013
Warning: if you want to read a Sophie Hannah book, DO NOT choose this one first!
I am usually gripped by Hannah's books, she's a fluent and engaging author, her books are well plotted and the twist is difficult to work out until very late on.
The Carrier began promisingly but I fully got the feeling the author got bored or distracted whilst writing it. The logic behind Francine's death is something I still don't understand, and the reasons why all the characters got tangled up in this web of lies still isn't clear. Hannah's characters are always psychologically complex, as everyone is, and in her other books the relationships between the characters are logical. Unfortunately, this one was beyond the realm of my belief in Sophie Hannah and her writing. I look forward to her next book though, and sincerely hope the plot and characters come together much better than in this one.
I am usually gripped by Hannah's books, she's a fluent and engaging author, her books are well plotted and the twist is difficult to work out until very late on.
The Carrier began promisingly but I fully got the feeling the author got bored or distracted whilst writing it. The logic behind Francine's death is something I still don't understand, and the reasons why all the characters got tangled up in this web of lies still isn't clear. Hannah's characters are always psychologically complex, as everyone is, and in her other books the relationships between the characters are logical. Unfortunately, this one was beyond the realm of my belief in Sophie Hannah and her writing. I look forward to her next book though, and sincerely hope the plot and characters come together much better than in this one.
August 21, 2013
I like Sophie Hannah's books. I always know when I pick one up that all my spare time will be devoted to it, her writing is very compelling. But I don't always like her characters or her characterisation. She tends to tell rather than show. For instance, and I've complained about this before, Giles Proust is set up as some kind of tyrannical monster but I see no evidence in his actual behaviour 'on screen' of his being anything other than a cranky, slightly sarcastic man. You'd think for a writer as talented as Sophie Hannah that she'd be able to show more of his evil ways so I don't have to rely on other character's opinions as to how bad he is. Or maybe I'm just missing something. But it was the same with the Tim Breary character. Everyone went on about how he was so amazing and special and messianic, but he was just a stupid plonker. Everything I read of his behaviour made me think he needed a slap upside the head, and I only had the other character's word for it that he was worth all the trouble they went to. But again, maybe I'm missing something clever and subtle here. All the characters were terrible people in this, they all needed to be locked out of the way somewhere. It's indicative of Sophie Hannah's writing talent that I kept reading, even though everyone was so infuriating.
December 10, 2022
A disappointment. In previous books Hannah has often made irritating errors, especially in relation to police procedurals. However, on the whole I have found her novels thoughtful, well-plotted and with well rounded and largely sympathetic characters - with the exception of the irritating detective couple. I struggled with this from the beginning. The relationships of the main protagonists were senseless, the characters one dimensional and the plot infeasible; especially the ridiculous dream interpretation towards the end (what??). I didn't care a jot for any of this lot. Further, the author's attempts at persuading us that the Simon Waterhouse character is some kind of genius, or even just terribly clever, fail miserably. I would prefer to see less of him, his wife and the cartoon sister character. I've read all of Hannah's books and thoroughly enjoyed the vast majority; however, after reading this I will probably think twice in the future which, is a shame.
September 24, 2013
Her worst book yet. Absolutely irrelevant police 'side story' Perseverance was not rewarding.
March 12, 2014
Why do I never learn? The next time I decide to spend my hard-earned cash on a Sophie Hannah book I want someone to give me a slap. A proper, big, roundhouse slap to the head and when I’ve picked myself up off the floor, to lead me gently away and say in a sad tone, “Celina…. Celina… do you never learn? Can’t you see how this is going to end (or not end, as is always the case)? Did the steaming pile of horse manure that was Kind of Cruel teach you nothing? You know the plot is going to be a labyrinthian pile of nonsense, that the same unattractive characters are going to have the same annoying arguments over and over again, that Hannah will write herself utterly into a corner in an attempt to marry the ridiculous motivations of her protagonists with some semblance of narrative sanity? Don’t you remember that you finish every book she writes running the gamut of emotions from bafflement to annoyance to teeth-grinding fury? WHY DO YOU NEVER LEARN?”
All right, enough facetiousness. The Carrier tells the story of the investigation into Francine Breary’s death. Her husband has confessed to killing her (this is not a spoiler) but says he doesn’t know why he did it. That’s about it, for the mystery, although a second murder is thrown in at the end for reasons that I cannot comprehend even now (apart from possibly putting something into the story to give the reader back their will to live). The big plot twist left me completely nonplussed as I assumed the characters had been doing that all along (well, why wouldn’t you?). This gets an extra star for a laugh I got from one conversation between Simon and Charlie and for the unique trick of actually making me feel a measure of sympathy for Proust at one point.
The thing is, I would love to read something that Sophie Hannah writes that isn’t set in blasted Spilling. I reckon she could write a literary psychological thriller that knocks something like dull-as-carrots The Goldfish into a cocked hat. But I guess these ridiculous procedurals are too profitable for her publisher to give her the chance…
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go give myself a slap.
All right, enough facetiousness. The Carrier tells the story of the investigation into Francine Breary’s death. Her husband has confessed to killing her (this is not a spoiler) but says he doesn’t know why he did it. That’s about it, for the mystery, although a second murder is thrown in at the end for reasons that I cannot comprehend even now (apart from possibly putting something into the story to give the reader back their will to live). The big plot twist left me completely nonplussed as I assumed the characters had been doing that all along (well, why wouldn’t you?). This gets an extra star for a laugh I got from one conversation between Simon and Charlie and for the unique trick of actually making me feel a measure of sympathy for Proust at one point.
The thing is, I would love to read something that Sophie Hannah writes that isn’t set in blasted Spilling. I reckon she could write a literary psychological thriller that knocks something like dull-as-carrots The Goldfish into a cocked hat. But I guess these ridiculous procedurals are too profitable for her publisher to give her the chance…
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go give myself a slap.
March 3, 2013
I’ve read two of Sophie Hannah’s earlier psychological thrillers in the Spilling CID series and enjoyed both but sadly this one is not one of her best. I was way of out date with the lives of the police detectives and in particular with that of Charlie Zailer and Simon Waterhouse, which only added to the frustration and I would therefore recommend that the series is best read in order, I believe this book is number 8.
I don’t know how to review this book – I don’t like giving negative reviews as I do appreciate just how much work goes into producing one and it’s not something that I could do but I really didn’t enjoy this and it became a chore to read, if I hadn’t been reviewing it for Vine I would have abandoned it.
It started off well enough with businesswomen Gaby Struthers being delayed for her homeward journey at Dusseldorf airport, and being stuck in a hotel room with a foul mouthed and aggressive young woman Lauren Cookson, who makes an admission of a man accused of murder being innocent, whom we subsequently find out is well known to Gaby. There were some very amusing exchanges and a promising storyline and I had high hopes for the rest of the book. Unfortunately into the second chapter the whole story started to go downhill. Basically a man confesses to killing his wife and the police spend the next 400 pages attempting to prove he didn’t do it. I struggled to the end to find out who did commit the murder only to be left disappointed at the finish.
I won’t reiterate the plot as this has already been done but one of the main problems I had with the story was understanding why Tim Breary inspired such loyal devotion from his friends Kerry and Dan Jose. They conferred on him a god-like status; gave up their homes and their careers to accommodate him and then after his confession, constantly lied to the police. The reader is constantly being told both by Gaby Struthers herself and indeed, by other people, how clever she is and yet how did she end up with the obnoxious Sean? Francine came across as a truly horrible person so why on earth did Tim marry her in the first place? The only pairing I can understand is Lauren and her husband Jason, the thug. They were well matched
Running alongside the Tim Breary storyline is a separate one involving some of the detectives being at odds with each other as well as infidelities with a colleague’s family member . There was obviously a problem between Simon Waterhouse and his boss, Proust and, whilst this may be a follow on from the previous book, it would have been helpful to have included in this one the reason for the disagreement.
The book is marketed as a psychological thriller but for me there wasn’t much tension or suspense, just a slow frustrating plod. I think the book would have benefitted from some aggressive editing to reduce it by at least 100 pages.
There was a positive for me, I did like the way that the back story from the viewpoints of Kerry and Dan Jose, Tim’s friends, was done by way of a letter to Francine. This did work very well, as to have this narrative included any other way would have made the book even longer.
Its a sad thought that if new readers of Sophie Hannah buy this book and don’t enjoy it they may well give up on her books altogether. That would be a real shame as her earlier books are very good indeed.
I don’t know how to review this book – I don’t like giving negative reviews as I do appreciate just how much work goes into producing one and it’s not something that I could do but I really didn’t enjoy this and it became a chore to read, if I hadn’t been reviewing it for Vine I would have abandoned it.
It started off well enough with businesswomen Gaby Struthers being delayed for her homeward journey at Dusseldorf airport, and being stuck in a hotel room with a foul mouthed and aggressive young woman Lauren Cookson, who makes an admission of a man accused of murder being innocent, whom we subsequently find out is well known to Gaby. There were some very amusing exchanges and a promising storyline and I had high hopes for the rest of the book. Unfortunately into the second chapter the whole story started to go downhill. Basically a man confesses to killing his wife and the police spend the next 400 pages attempting to prove he didn’t do it. I struggled to the end to find out who did commit the murder only to be left disappointed at the finish.
I won’t reiterate the plot as this has already been done but one of the main problems I had with the story was understanding why Tim Breary inspired such loyal devotion from his friends Kerry and Dan Jose. They conferred on him a god-like status; gave up their homes and their careers to accommodate him and then after his confession, constantly lied to the police. The reader is constantly being told both by Gaby Struthers herself and indeed, by other people, how clever she is and yet how did she end up with the obnoxious Sean? Francine came across as a truly horrible person so why on earth did Tim marry her in the first place? The only pairing I can understand is Lauren and her husband Jason, the thug. They were well matched
Running alongside the Tim Breary storyline is a separate one involving some of the detectives being at odds with each other as well as infidelities with a colleague’s family member . There was obviously a problem between Simon Waterhouse and his boss, Proust and, whilst this may be a follow on from the previous book, it would have been helpful to have included in this one the reason for the disagreement.
The book is marketed as a psychological thriller but for me there wasn’t much tension or suspense, just a slow frustrating plod. I think the book would have benefitted from some aggressive editing to reduce it by at least 100 pages.
There was a positive for me, I did like the way that the back story from the viewpoints of Kerry and Dan Jose, Tim’s friends, was done by way of a letter to Francine. This did work very well, as to have this narrative included any other way would have made the book even longer.
Its a sad thought that if new readers of Sophie Hannah buy this book and don’t enjoy it they may well give up on her books altogether. That would be a real shame as her earlier books are very good indeed.
December 29, 2016
This review may contain some spoilers. The first of which is that it is an oddly terrible book. I have never believed that you need to like or be able to relate to a character in a novel to enjoy it to the fullest, but you do need to find their actions feasible in whatever stretched reality the author chooses to construct. Characters like Patrick Bateman are fantastical misallocations of reality, but appear all too credible. With an authors skill their choices make sense albeit in a warped world.
In the carrier, the author rather lazily puts three to four characters at the core of the plot who are both utterly befuddling and annoying. There is the high king of passive aggression called of all things Tim whose friends seem to believe he is some form of the messiah and act accordingly. Tim in what the reader begins to suspect is a classic Tim move has a really mean girlfriend and instead of deciding that losing her number might be a plan marries her thereby ensuring his life is total hell. One of the signs that he is making a mistake is that post agreeing to marry her he suffers from a recurring nightmare that she wants to kill him. This does not lead to any second guessing of his decision. His friends are even more inane, not only do they accept the dreadfulness they twist their lives around like pretzels to accommodate it. Lastly a woman who is depicted as smart, capable and in charge follows Tim (honestly the Tim bit kills me) around through his entire martyrdom.
Having characters who are inexplicable in a psychological drama is a fundamental flaw from which this novel reels around in a slow motion car crash only punctuated by snorts of derision. There are some great sparks and the author can write really well and the final twist does bring some redemption but by the eighth in the series I would have smothered the lot of them with a pillow.
In the carrier, the author rather lazily puts three to four characters at the core of the plot who are both utterly befuddling and annoying. There is the high king of passive aggression called of all things Tim whose friends seem to believe he is some form of the messiah and act accordingly. Tim in what the reader begins to suspect is a classic Tim move has a really mean girlfriend and instead of deciding that losing her number might be a plan marries her thereby ensuring his life is total hell. One of the signs that he is making a mistake is that post agreeing to marry her he suffers from a recurring nightmare that she wants to kill him. This does not lead to any second guessing of his decision. His friends are even more inane, not only do they accept the dreadfulness they twist their lives around like pretzels to accommodate it. Lastly a woman who is depicted as smart, capable and in charge follows Tim (honestly the Tim bit kills me) around through his entire martyrdom.
Having characters who are inexplicable in a psychological drama is a fundamental flaw from which this novel reels around in a slow motion car crash only punctuated by snorts of derision. There are some great sparks and the author can write really well and the final twist does bring some redemption but by the eighth in the series I would have smothered the lot of them with a pillow.
June 16, 2013
I am not sure if this was actually not as good as her previous novels or if I am just wearying of the torturously complicated plots and uniformly dysfunctional relationships.
December 31, 2013
Poor, lazy effort.
The whole story is told in letters which the writers never intended to be read by the recipient, so they are completely pointless except as an easy way for Sophie Hannah to spoonfeed information to her readers.
I'm so disappointed. Similar to The Orphan Choir, Hannah's latest (terrible) book, the reader gleans facts due to one or more of the characters writing unnecessary information down for nonsensical reasons: in 'The Orphan Choir' the main character chronicles her life history on a noise complaint form she intends to send to the council; here, the characters write letters to a comatose woman and stuff them under her mattress, without any intention of reading them to her. They constantly retell stories with which the unconscious woman, Francine, would already be familiar, and then try to excuse that issue by asserting that they know what they're doing ('Do you remember that day, Francine? Of course you do. When you and Tim were at our house and blahblahblah...'). Having a diary for each character would have been better! At least then there is an excuse for covering old ground...recounting old stories to those who were involved in them is just not believable.
In fact, the whole solution to the mystery of who murdered Francine is pretty much an excuse for the lazy way Hannah chose to write this book.
Add to that a series of loose ends which are never resolved and you have a very poor novel. ( All these things went nowhere.)
I have read all of Sophie Hannah's Spilling CID novels, and to be honest it seems that her work is getting worse and worse. Glad I got this one from the library.
PS. Don't read this if you have any interest in reading Murder on the Orient Express, the Poirot novel by Agatha Chrisie. Sophie Hannah literally gives away the entire plot and solution in this book. Very thoughtless of her as she has written the 'new' Poirot novel (bad choice of author by whoever decided to let someone loose on Christie's work - all I'm saying!) so presumably should have considered that some of her fans might also be Poirot fans who hadn't got to 'Murder on the Orient Express' yet!
The whole story is told in letters which the writers never intended to be read by the recipient, so they are completely pointless except as an easy way for Sophie Hannah to spoonfeed information to her readers.
I'm so disappointed. Similar to The Orphan Choir, Hannah's latest (terrible) book, the reader gleans facts due to one or more of the characters writing unnecessary information down for nonsensical reasons: in 'The Orphan Choir' the main character chronicles her life history on a noise complaint form she intends to send to the council; here, the characters write letters to a comatose woman and stuff them under her mattress, without any intention of reading them to her. They constantly retell stories with which the unconscious woman, Francine, would already be familiar, and then try to excuse that issue by asserting that they know what they're doing ('Do you remember that day, Francine? Of course you do. When you and Tim were at our house and blahblahblah...'). Having a diary for each character would have been better! At least then there is an excuse for covering old ground...recounting old stories to those who were involved in them is just not believable.
In fact, the whole solution to the mystery of who murdered Francine is pretty much an excuse for the lazy way Hannah chose to write this book.
Add to that a series of loose ends which are never resolved and you have a very poor novel. ( All these things went nowhere.)
I have read all of Sophie Hannah's Spilling CID novels, and to be honest it seems that her work is getting worse and worse. Glad I got this one from the library.
PS. Don't read this if you have any interest in reading Murder on the Orient Express, the Poirot novel by Agatha Chrisie. Sophie Hannah literally gives away the entire plot and solution in this book. Very thoughtless of her as she has written the 'new' Poirot novel (bad choice of author by whoever decided to let someone loose on Christie's work - all I'm saying!) so presumably should have considered that some of her fans might also be Poirot fans who hadn't got to 'Murder on the Orient Express' yet!
March 13, 2013
As usual for Ms Hannah, I found this book to be extremely intriguing and very well written. Having read an odd review I expected to be reading mostly poetry, but in fact the poetry used was relevant to the plot and indeed, moved things along apace without being at all intrusive. All the old favourite characters were back, and still managed amidst the mayhem of their own personal lives, to solve the mystery.
Tim Breary has confessed to the murder of his wife, Francine, however all is not as it appears. Did he really do it? Can he possibly be literally unable to give a motive? Simon and cohorts unravel the truth behind the lies with the help of Gaby Struthers, ex "lover" of Tim's, who having had a rather odd experience whilst abroad in Germany finds herself embroiled once more in his life.
As is often the case with Sophie Hannah's novels, you are not going to like everyone you meet - in fact I found myself actively disliking a lot of them and feeling sorry for the victim, who supposedly was a bit of a monster in life. I was very satisfied with the solution and it was great fun getting there!
Tim Breary has confessed to the murder of his wife, Francine, however all is not as it appears. Did he really do it? Can he possibly be literally unable to give a motive? Simon and cohorts unravel the truth behind the lies with the help of Gaby Struthers, ex "lover" of Tim's, who having had a rather odd experience whilst abroad in Germany finds herself embroiled once more in his life.
As is often the case with Sophie Hannah's novels, you are not going to like everyone you meet - in fact I found myself actively disliking a lot of them and feeling sorry for the victim, who supposedly was a bit of a monster in life. I was very satisfied with the solution and it was great fun getting there!
September 3, 2013
Not an edge of your seat novel and certainly not phenomenal. The potential for a great story was there but the ideas were half baked and there were so many threads of the story that were mentioned then not explored at all. There were no explanations offered for the often bizarre behaviour by the characters and it just appeared as if the author couldn't be bothered. So as a reader, I would suggest not to bother either.
October 13, 2013
This was our book club choice for September and another new author for me. The blurb sounded promising so we were all keen to get reading.
Each chapter is dated and with that brings a different person's view, I'm usually a fan of books set out like this but I don't think it really added anything.
I didn't really get the relationship between Tim, Kerry and Dan and why they were so devoted to him, it was all a bit odd. Oh...and the letters to Francine which are interspersed are actually really cruel which doesn't help you like the Kerry and Dan any more (although some were quite amusing but I don't think I was supposed to be smirking as I was reading them).
Unfortunately I really struggled with this book, I don't like giving up on books so persevered but it was hard work. I didn't engage with any of the characters and found them to be totally unbelievable; so didn't really care enough to be interested in what happened to them and towards the end I really didn't care if Tim had killed his wife or not. In fact, I hoped he had to give the book more of a twist.
This book is billed as a psychological thriller but I didn't feel that at all, it actually feels quite ploddish.
I believe this novel is part of a series of books and therefore is probably better aimed at fans of this series rather than as a standalone. I really dislike giving a negative review but this really left me feeling cold and I'm afraid this book doesn't inspire to read any more of Sophie Hannah's books. Sorry!
Each chapter is dated and with that brings a different person's view, I'm usually a fan of books set out like this but I don't think it really added anything.
I didn't really get the relationship between Tim, Kerry and Dan and why they were so devoted to him, it was all a bit odd. Oh...and the letters to Francine which are interspersed are actually really cruel which doesn't help you like the Kerry and Dan any more (although some were quite amusing but I don't think I was supposed to be smirking as I was reading them).
Unfortunately I really struggled with this book, I don't like giving up on books so persevered but it was hard work. I didn't engage with any of the characters and found them to be totally unbelievable; so didn't really care enough to be interested in what happened to them and towards the end I really didn't care if Tim had killed his wife or not. In fact, I hoped he had to give the book more of a twist.
This book is billed as a psychological thriller but I didn't feel that at all, it actually feels quite ploddish.
I believe this novel is part of a series of books and therefore is probably better aimed at fans of this series rather than as a standalone. I really dislike giving a negative review but this really left me feeling cold and I'm afraid this book doesn't inspire to read any more of Sophie Hannah's books. Sorry!
November 25, 2017
What a confusing tale! And before I go any further I'll just say...
*CARE - CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*
When I started this book I didn't realise it was Book 8 in a series though it wouldn't have stopped me reading it as more often than not I read out of order! That said in this case I think some background knowledge would have helped as I found the relationships....both personal & professional...between the police officers very confusing. I didn't understand the dynamics between Proust & Simon at all, in fact Proust in general remains a mystery to me & I'm not sure I've got the right end of the stick with the Liv/Gibbs/Dom scenario. Anyhow back to main gist of the story.....
From the start, there was so much that annoyed me about the characters in this book. Firstly they seemed a bit stereotypical: Gaby, an intelligent business woman saddled with a prat of a boyfriend, Dan & Kerry middle-class, posh types & Lauren & Jason were tattooed, foul-mouthed & thick...not very original. While the airport/hotel scenes were probably the most entertaining bit of the book for me, I found it hard to believe that Gaby would have let Lauren latch onto her like that, it wasn't as if it was out of politeness she had no qualms about being rude.
The letters from Dan & Kerry to Francine provided an insight into the past but the whole shoving them under the mattress thing, while explained later on, seemed pointless to me. Tim, well to be quite frank, I couldn't give a toss about, & as to his dream of Francine murdering him... huh... what a joke. (I'm not laughing)
Despite all the criticism I never thought of stopping reading as there were two things I was desperate to know. I wasn't bothered about who killed Francine, I didn't care if Tim was ever released, I wanted to know the reason why Lauren fled the hotel room! Haha....& what a cracker the answer to that was! *cue much rolling of eyes*
Secondly the cover tag said "He swore he was a killer. The truth was worse" that sooo enticed me. The truth? A story that has left me with far too many questions & feeling conned.
*CARE - CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*
When I started this book I didn't realise it was Book 8 in a series though it wouldn't have stopped me reading it as more often than not I read out of order! That said in this case I think some background knowledge would have helped as I found the relationships....both personal & professional...between the police officers very confusing. I didn't understand the dynamics between Proust & Simon at all, in fact Proust in general remains a mystery to me & I'm not sure I've got the right end of the stick with the Liv/Gibbs/Dom scenario. Anyhow back to main gist of the story.....
From the start, there was so much that annoyed me about the characters in this book. Firstly they seemed a bit stereotypical: Gaby, an intelligent business woman saddled with a prat of a boyfriend, Dan & Kerry middle-class, posh types & Lauren & Jason were tattooed, foul-mouthed & thick...not very original. While the airport/hotel scenes were probably the most entertaining bit of the book for me, I found it hard to believe that Gaby would have let Lauren latch onto her like that, it wasn't as if it was out of politeness she had no qualms about being rude.
The letters from Dan & Kerry to Francine provided an insight into the past but the whole shoving them under the mattress thing, while explained later on, seemed pointless to me. Tim, well to be quite frank, I couldn't give a toss about, & as to his dream of Francine murdering him... huh... what a joke. (I'm not laughing)
Despite all the criticism I never thought of stopping reading as there were two things I was desperate to know. I wasn't bothered about who killed Francine, I didn't care if Tim was ever released, I wanted to know the reason why Lauren fled the hotel room! Haha....& what a cracker the answer to that was! *cue much rolling of eyes*
Secondly the cover tag said "He swore he was a killer. The truth was worse" that sooo enticed me. The truth? A story that has left me with far too many questions & feeling conned.
August 15, 2013
This is not 'edge-of-the-seat' and its author is not 'phenomenal' by any means. Nevertheless, it's more middle-class crime in the same vein as Susan Hill's Serrailler and PD James' Dalgleish novels. All the characters live in suitably aga-ed (detached) houses, with names like Dan, Gaby and Tim. The obligatory chav characters (Lauren, Wayne and Jason, obviously) are replete with foul mouths and tattoos do the menial work, whilst Tim and co spout poetry and sit around on the proceeds of Gaby's marvelous technological development.
I've lost count of how many outings Charlier Zailer and her posse have had by now, and have to admit to reading them all, mainly because it's more of a habit than anything I particularly enjoy these days. Some of the Spilling novels, including The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives have been serialised by ITV (another reason not really to bother)as Case Sensitive. I watched a couple and won't be repeating the experience.
Whilst this is quite cleverly plotted, the characters are really two-dimensional and cliched. I did like the multiple narrative (which seems to be on-trend at the moment) but none of the characters are remotely empathetic or even sympathetic. For some reason this series is apparently classed as psychological thriller, but personally I don't see how either of those adjectives fit this holiday read.
Apparently there's yet another out next year. Not holding the breath.
I've lost count of how many outings Charlier Zailer and her posse have had by now, and have to admit to reading them all, mainly because it's more of a habit than anything I particularly enjoy these days. Some of the Spilling novels, including The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives have been serialised by ITV (another reason not really to bother)as Case Sensitive. I watched a couple and won't be repeating the experience.
Whilst this is quite cleverly plotted, the characters are really two-dimensional and cliched. I did like the multiple narrative (which seems to be on-trend at the moment) but none of the characters are remotely empathetic or even sympathetic. For some reason this series is apparently classed as psychological thriller, but personally I don't see how either of those adjectives fit this holiday read.
Apparently there's yet another out next year. Not holding the breath.
April 7, 2013
'Tension, thy name is Sophie Hannah' - The Guardian
Although this comment was printed on the back cover of the edition I was reading, after finishing this book I'm afraid I can't agree with it in the slightest. I've read other books by Sophie Hannah and enjoyed them very much. However, with this book, Hannah seems to fail to live up to my expectations of her.
The entire book just felt like a repeat of the blurb: Tim Breary admitting to a murder he may well have committed, Gaby Struthers and the police not believing he actually did it, his friends backing him up and everyone generally being confused. No clues as to what really happened seemed to be given until the very end of the book, when the actual series of events is unravelled. The unravelling also failed to leave me satisfied. It was so simple, that I suddenly understood the lack of clues: because otherwise I would have guessed the plot before reaching the end.
The only reason Sophie Hannah gets 2 instead of 1 star for this book is because her writing style is pleasurable and because I know she can do better!
Although this comment was printed on the back cover of the edition I was reading, after finishing this book I'm afraid I can't agree with it in the slightest. I've read other books by Sophie Hannah and enjoyed them very much. However, with this book, Hannah seems to fail to live up to my expectations of her.
The entire book just felt like a repeat of the blurb: Tim Breary admitting to a murder he may well have committed, Gaby Struthers and the police not believing he actually did it, his friends backing him up and everyone generally being confused. No clues as to what really happened seemed to be given until the very end of the book, when the actual series of events is unravelled. The unravelling also failed to leave me satisfied. It was so simple, that I suddenly understood the lack of clues: because otherwise I would have guessed the plot before reaching the end.
The only reason Sophie Hannah gets 2 instead of 1 star for this book is because her writing style is pleasurable and because I know she can do better!
December 19, 2016
I was tempted a few times to discard this book but persevered because I liked Sophie Hannah's other books. This was a 2 1/2 star book for me. I bumped it up to 3 but then lowered it to 2 after writing the review reminded me how little I liked it. The ending, though "tidy" made me wonder why it took almost 500 pages to get there.
The story revolves around a man, Tim, who confesses to killings his disabled wife but won't give a reason. There is another woman, Gaby, who is or maybe isn't part of a triangle. But in the end I really didn't care about Tim or Gaby. They deserved one another. The psychological part of this thriller centered on the fact that the wife was a horrible person who became paralyzed and unable to speak after a stroke. I just wondered why the people who surrounded her got involved with her to begin with. Life may be too short to read books this long with so little to offer.
The story revolves around a man, Tim, who confesses to killings his disabled wife but won't give a reason. There is another woman, Gaby, who is or maybe isn't part of a triangle. But in the end I really didn't care about Tim or Gaby. They deserved one another. The psychological part of this thriller centered on the fact that the wife was a horrible person who became paralyzed and unable to speak after a stroke. I just wondered why the people who surrounded her got involved with her to begin with. Life may be too short to read books this long with so little to offer.
May 8, 2015
I read the first book in this series and liked it enough to want to read more, but my library didn't have any. So when this book came in, I was interested to read it even though I knew I'd missed all the books in between.
I definitely felt that lack of knowledge regarding all the CID characters' lives but I was still able to enjoy the main story. And enjoy it I did, it was weird and gripping and tense all the way through.
But then at the end, it just totally fell flat. The motive, the solution, the outcome was just weak after all the complex build up.
I definitely felt that lack of knowledge regarding all the CID characters' lives but I was still able to enjoy the main story. And enjoy it I did, it was weird and gripping and tense all the way through.
But then at the end, it just totally fell flat. The motive, the solution, the outcome was just weak after all the complex build up.
March 23, 2015
Interesting and well written, but a little scattered. The beginning was good, but then it kind of drags on and some of the characters aren't very clear or believable. The ending is disappointing also. It is, however, suspenseful, some parts more than others, but enough that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened.
September 9, 2021
Mi ha fatto venire il "blocco del lettore", finirlo è stata un'impresa
January 7, 2017
I've read three of Ms Hannah's books. Had I read but one, I would have been more impressed. The author has really only written one book, and then rehashed the same characters, the same neuroses, the same plots, over, and over, and over. The same could be said of Agatha Christie, but Christie did it with more finesse and style.
Here is Ms Hannah's inevitable and tedious formula. The protagonist is invariably an upper-middle class unlikable, neurotic, demanding, self-righteous woman, who holds everyone else in contempt. The protagonist finds herself in an unlikely conundrum with the police, which she refuses to clarify, for no good reason. The protagonist is not someone you would invite to a dinner party. Indeed, she is someone you would run away from, lest she accuse you of molesting her father last week, though he has been dead these 20 years. In short, the protagonist is raving bonkers.
Ms Hannah's books rely on characters lying or withholding information. Again, for no good reason. Everyone lies to everyone. Even the police, to each other. Every male character -- police and crooks alike --is weak and deceptive. Every female character is mad, to one degree or another. Every single relationship is poisoned. I can only believe this a projection of the author's own life on to her characters.
In every book, the author concludes with the main detective conducting a lengthy and tedious summation, after which he announces the baddies. Christie did the same, of course, but in Christie's case she carefully showed us the clues we had missed. Sophie Hannah simply pulls the final summation out of her backside, without regard for logic.
If there is one author you can miss for the next decade or three, it is Sophie Hannah.
Here is Ms Hannah's inevitable and tedious formula. The protagonist is invariably an upper-middle class unlikable, neurotic, demanding, self-righteous woman, who holds everyone else in contempt. The protagonist finds herself in an unlikely conundrum with the police, which she refuses to clarify, for no good reason. The protagonist is not someone you would invite to a dinner party. Indeed, she is someone you would run away from, lest she accuse you of molesting her father last week, though he has been dead these 20 years. In short, the protagonist is raving bonkers.
Ms Hannah's books rely on characters lying or withholding information. Again, for no good reason. Everyone lies to everyone. Even the police, to each other. Every male character -- police and crooks alike --is weak and deceptive. Every female character is mad, to one degree or another. Every single relationship is poisoned. I can only believe this a projection of the author's own life on to her characters.
In every book, the author concludes with the main detective conducting a lengthy and tedious summation, after which he announces the baddies. Christie did the same, of course, but in Christie's case she carefully showed us the clues we had missed. Sophie Hannah simply pulls the final summation out of her backside, without regard for logic.
If there is one author you can miss for the next decade or three, it is Sophie Hannah.
August 20, 2013
I picked this up having heard good things about the author and by having been taken in by the hype on the cover sleeve. As described by one of the main characters I was decidedly "in the middle of my seat" for the whole 419 pages! (the more astute will note that this denotes the opposite of being on the edge of my seat which is what I had misleadingly been promised). I couldn't identify with any one of the characters; why would not only one grown, supposedly intellectually superior man put up with Francine as his wife but also his best friends (decidedly dodgy best friends who, although married to one another and having their own marriage and lives to deal with, place the happiness of aforementioned superior intellectual before their own by rescuing him from every conceivable foible of his life to the point of neglecting their own!) who really didn't have to tolerate her at all, let alone live with her!
I did not believe one word that came from any of the characters' mouths and persevered because Sophie Hannah has always had such good write ups. I perhaps should have started with an earlier novel, knowing as I do that even the most respected authors (Philippa Gregory, Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult amongst them) are capable of churning out the odd lacklustre conveyor belt tome from time to time.
Forgive me if you rate this book above 4 stars! Each very much to her own!
I did not believe one word that came from any of the characters' mouths and persevered because Sophie Hannah has always had such good write ups. I perhaps should have started with an earlier novel, knowing as I do that even the most respected authors (Philippa Gregory, Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult amongst them) are capable of churning out the odd lacklustre conveyor belt tome from time to time.
Forgive me if you rate this book above 4 stars! Each very much to her own!
October 29, 2013
This would have worked more effectively as a short story. I had no empathy with any of the characters which made it more difficult to plough through far too many pages. I haven't read any of Ms Hannah's earlier books so was not familiar with the police characters and I found their stories to be uninteresting and distracting. The only faintly likeable character neglected his wife and newborn premature twins to conduct an affair with a silly woman on the periphery of events. The outcome was quite satisfactory which is why, if she had concentrated on the psychological aspects, rather than bogging us down with unnecessary padding, we could have had a neat little thought-provoking tale questioning people's motives for their actions. I'm not sure if I could risk another of Ms Hannah's "thrillers" as I certainly was not carried away by this one.
August 24, 2013
I think Sophie's the bee's knees with the plotting of her earlier novels but there comes a time when one needs to separate the tuna from the herrings.
It is just incredibly tiring to work one's head around all her dialogue and trying not to be tripped over by the red herrings.
It's one thing to lay the trap but at the end of the day, it's a novel and when one just can't get into the characters/plots, it fails, despite whatever brilliant scheme is dreamed up.
I am going to give Sophie's book a rest till she improves on her writing and cut out the excesses from her books.
it just strains the credibility that people in real life talks the way her characters does in her books and says so much but mean so little in context!
It is just incredibly tiring to work one's head around all her dialogue and trying not to be tripped over by the red herrings.
It's one thing to lay the trap but at the end of the day, it's a novel and when one just can't get into the characters/plots, it fails, despite whatever brilliant scheme is dreamed up.
I am going to give Sophie's book a rest till she improves on her writing and cut out the excesses from her books.
it just strains the credibility that people in real life talks the way her characters does in her books and says so much but mean so little in context!
July 22, 2013
Although I generally enjoy Ms. Hannah's books, the psychological underpinnings of this one strained credulity. Does anyone really believe that human beings would choose to act the way these characters do? And given that Francine's so-called abuse is mainly filtered through Tim, I kept hoping that it would all turn out to be gaslighting on his part, that it never happened or didn't happen as he portrayed it. And, frankly, TWO withholding men, damaged by their mothers yet brilliant and inspiring utter devotion, is a bit much for one novel. The book was somewhat redeemed at the very end, but it was a hard slog to that point.
April 22, 2015
I usually really enjoy Sophie Hannah's suspense novels and go into them knowing that for the first third or so, nothing is going to make sense. This one, however, never reached the point where everything starts to come together and the rest is fast-paced and you can't wait to find out what happens next. Once our trusty Culver Valley CID detectives began to unravel the web of lies and motives woven by the suspects, the whole thing became a big convoluted mess that relied on people thinking and doing things that didn't make a bit of sense. Disappointing.
January 1, 2014
This is the first Sophie Hannah book that I've read and it will be the last. There were way too many unnecessary characters in this book and it was way too long. I forced myself to finish it as was hoping the ending would be explosive. Boy was I wrong. Tim is a pathetic, unlikeable character which makes it totally unbelievable that Gaby, Dan and Kerry would worship him in the way that they do. It didn't seem to me that Francine was all that horrendous, she just sounded like a bit of a cow. I can't understand why Tim, Dan and Kerry didn't just tell her where to go.
January 21, 2016
The only book I have read of Sophie's was The point of rescue which I read quite a few years ago and enjoyed . I came across the carrier at a second hand book store and wish I had left it there ! Confusing,messy and sloppy storylines ..... And I skim read the last half of the book which always makes me grumpy that I felt like I had to do that !
November 11, 2015
Avvertenze: provoca stati comatosi e abbioccanti.
Mantenere l'attenzione capitolo dopo capitolo è stata un'impresa titanica.
Ma ad un certo punto ho gettato la spugna e me so fatta na bella dormita!
Mantenere l'attenzione capitolo dopo capitolo è stata un'impresa titanica.
Ma ad un certo punto ho gettato la spugna e me so fatta na bella dormita!
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