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Total Eclipse
Alternative cover edition of ISBN 0752803166.
Julia told Lomax they had been the perfect family. Lomax saw her as the perfect woman. But Sheriff Murph McLean believed that she had committed the perfect murder.
The circumstantial evidence against Julia is so damning that her attorney advises her to plead guilty to killing her husband and stepdaughter. But Julia says she is innocent. Lomax knows she is. So he sets out to prove it.
But as Lomax peels back layers of deceit he uncovers a picture that is very far from perfect. A picture of a broken family, driven by guilt, incest and obsessive jealousy, ready to explode into violence at any moment. And then Lomax stumbles across the darkest secret of all…
Julia told Lomax they had been the perfect family. Lomax saw her as the perfect woman. But Sheriff Murph McLean believed that she had committed the perfect murder.
The circumstantial evidence against Julia is so damning that her attorney advises her to plead guilty to killing her husband and stepdaughter. But Julia says she is innocent. Lomax knows she is. So he sets out to prove it.
But as Lomax peels back layers of deceit he uncovers a picture that is very far from perfect. A picture of a broken family, driven by guilt, incest and obsessive jealousy, ready to explode into violence at any moment. And then Lomax stumbles across the darkest secret of all…
552 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 30, 2012
It surprises me a lot that this book was never made into a film (As far as I know). It has certain things that would have made a very gripping cinematic experience.
Funny that I always think that about this story. They say that it's often mediocre books that make a good film. (This book's far better than that) It's also quite a chunky book. (Doesn't obviously lend itself to a film script you would think) But it has some plot ideas in it that haven't been done I'm sure, and filmmakers always seem to fall back on all the same old cliches, when there's an original story knocking about that's an absolute gift!
The twists of the story seem bizarre if they are described, yet I think they're developed in a fairly convincing way. There's an unrealistic satirical novel, which I won't name, but which I suspect could have been the inspiration for this. Even if Rigbey has derived the story, she still makes a very good, readable thriller, with a pretty good twist at the end. It's a book that eschews pace for longueurs, for the slow build-up, and that's a particular quality I liked about it. Ultimately it has a haunting quality, a touch of the gothic, you will sympathise with the central character for falling for something he has constructed in his own mind, but which...
That's it, I'm saying no more!
Funny that I always think that about this story. They say that it's often mediocre books that make a good film. (This book's far better than that) It's also quite a chunky book. (Doesn't obviously lend itself to a film script you would think) But it has some plot ideas in it that haven't been done I'm sure, and filmmakers always seem to fall back on all the same old cliches, when there's an original story knocking about that's an absolute gift!
The twists of the story seem bizarre if they are described, yet I think they're developed in a fairly convincing way. There's an unrealistic satirical novel, which I won't name, but which I suspect could have been the inspiration for this. Even if Rigbey has derived the story, she still makes a very good, readable thriller, with a pretty good twist at the end. It's a book that eschews pace for longueurs, for the slow build-up, and that's a particular quality I liked about it. Ultimately it has a haunting quality, a touch of the gothic, you will sympathise with the central character for falling for something he has constructed in his own mind, but which...
That's it, I'm saying no more!
April 23, 2012
When I finished it I regretted reading it. I did not like the style of writing at all. I only read the first couple of chapters because I had nothing else to read. Then curiosity got the best of me and I read the rest. I found it the ending disappointing and the rest not worth reading.
February 7, 2022
Ich fand die Charaktere sehr authentisch und bin gut in die Geschichte gekommen. Vor allem das Ende hat mich sehr überrascht und ich hatte bis zur letzten Seite Spaß an dem Buch. :)
March 5, 2021
I was impressed with this 20 years ago, when I first read it, and I'm impressed today. At 550 pages, don't pretend to be surprised that this is the slowest of slow burns -- and you will either like that, and be impressed by slow build-up, and dark humor. Or you won't.
First, this isn't really a mystery or whodunnit. Put that out of your head right now. Trying to avoid spoilers here, but this is more like a slow, steady demonstration of how we (readers and characters) kid ourselves, and ignore the evidence right in front of our eyes. Rereading it, and remembering very clearly "the big reveal," one of the great pleasures was noticing how, page upon page, Rigbey drops little hints and clues (at one point, like the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, a 7-year-old child more or less says outright what we should all see), so that, at the end, we can't really say that we haven't been told.
I'm still pondering exactly what Rigbey thought she was doing here. Not a mystery or whodunnit -- something more devious, disguised as a mystery ... (Ooops! Have I said too much?) What struck me this time is how funny it is -- the blurb from The Wall Street Journal on my copy describes the novel as "a comedy of manners ..." and I think there's a lot of truth in that -- like the scientists in her story, Rigbey uses "aim, method, result, conclusion" to describe and dissect different kind of barely functional families, and the individuals who get along by lying to themselves, and imposing narratives on those around them.
If I have one criticism, it's that Rigbey seemed to be in a big hurry to wind it up. After 540 pages, she barely spares 10 pages on the aftermath of The Big Reveal -- it feels like she's done with it, and anxious to get away, with lots of questions unanswered, and issues unresolved.
BUT, even so, I like it. I recommend it, if you have the time and patience and inclination for a slow burn.
For the benefit of anyone who has read the novel, and would like to address the implausibilities therein -- here we go.
First, this isn't really a mystery or whodunnit. Put that out of your head right now. Trying to avoid spoilers here, but this is more like a slow, steady demonstration of how we (readers and characters) kid ourselves, and ignore the evidence right in front of our eyes. Rereading it, and remembering very clearly "the big reveal," one of the great pleasures was noticing how, page upon page, Rigbey drops little hints and clues (at one point, like the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, a 7-year-old child more or less says outright what we should all see), so that, at the end, we can't really say that we haven't been told.
I'm still pondering exactly what Rigbey thought she was doing here. Not a mystery or whodunnit -- something more devious, disguised as a mystery ... (Ooops! Have I said too much?) What struck me this time is how funny it is -- the blurb from The Wall Street Journal on my copy describes the novel as "a comedy of manners ..." and I think there's a lot of truth in that -- like the scientists in her story, Rigbey uses "aim, method, result, conclusion" to describe and dissect different kind of barely functional families, and the individuals who get along by lying to themselves, and imposing narratives on those around them.
If I have one criticism, it's that Rigbey seemed to be in a big hurry to wind it up. After 540 pages, she barely spares 10 pages on the aftermath of The Big Reveal -- it feels like she's done with it, and anxious to get away, with lots of questions unanswered, and issues unresolved.
BUT, even so, I like it. I recommend it, if you have the time and patience and inclination for a slow burn.
For the benefit of anyone who has read the novel, and would like to address the implausibilities therein -- here we go.
August 17, 2026
When I first began reading this book my initial thoughts were "My God, how do all these people function without the props the author provides ?" But the story meandered along with enough interest for me to continue reading it. The courtroom was the best of it for me and the ending was so bizarre and sublime I chose to add another star to the rating. One of those endings you say to yourself "I see it now, how come I didn't pick up on it before?" Worth a read.
April 11, 2021
DNF: 31%
February 9, 2023
Poorly edited and hard to follow. Amazing twist but wish it was the end 💔
January 2, 2016
It's an okay story, badly told and more than a little improbable. It felt as if the author underestimates the reader's intelligence.
*Possible Spoiler Alert*
Don't people have their finger prints taken when they are arrested in the US?
And I found the fact that a man could be so blinded by a woman very improbable.
I was glad when I was finished with this book and it was over.
*Possible Spoiler Alert*
Don't people have their finger prints taken when they are arrested in the US?
And I found the fact that a man could be so blinded by a woman very improbable.
I was glad when I was finished with this book and it was over.
January 15, 2008
I quite liked this, perhaps because there aren't many books written by woman that feature astronomers as the main characters. Good, but not superb.
March 2, 2009
This one is really good... like I don't want to put it down. If you like intelligent mystery, psychological suspense, and some eroticism, this one's for you.
July 27, 2009
I read this quite a while back, and remember loving it!
Lots of intelligent suspense- one of thosse books you really cannot put down.
Lots of intelligent suspense- one of thosse books you really cannot put down.
October 18, 2009
Though I found this book interesting I had the whole plot figured out at least half way through the story.
February 25, 2010
fairly gripping though i ksuspected what happened at the end
July 26, 2014
Set around an observatory in Northern California at the time of an eclipse, this is a very good mystery suspense novel.
August 2, 2008
A suspenseful mystery with an almost unbelievable twist at the end.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews