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The Crooked House
Alison is as close to anonymous as she can get: with no ties, no home, a backroom job, hers is a life lived under the radar. She's a nobody; she has no-one and that's how she wants it.
But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme Grace, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote and dilapidated house on the edge of a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else's—or so she thought.
Then one night a terrible thing happened in the crooked house, a nightmare of violence out of which Alison emerged the only witness and sole survivor and from which she has been running ever since. Only when she meets academic Paul Bartlett does Alison realize that if she's to have any chance of happiness, she has to return to her old life and confront the darkness that worked its way inside her family and has pursued her ever since.
But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme Grace, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote and dilapidated house on the edge of a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else's—or so she thought.
Then one night a terrible thing happened in the crooked house, a nightmare of violence out of which Alison emerged the only witness and sole survivor and from which she has been running ever since. Only when she meets academic Paul Bartlett does Alison realize that if she's to have any chance of happiness, she has to return to her old life and confront the darkness that worked its way inside her family and has pursued her ever since.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 2015
102 people are currently reading
4920 people want to read
About the author
Christobel Kent
23 books231 followersChristobel Kent was born in London in 1962 and now lives in Cambridge with her husband and four children; in between she lived in Florence. She worked in publishing for several years, most recently as Publicity Director at Andre Deutsch. Her debut novel A Party in San Niccolo, was published in 2003.
Series:
* Sandro Cellini
Series:
* Sandro Cellini
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 543 reviews
January 21, 2015
Had high hopes for this book after reading the reviews. Extremely disappointed.
Plot was ok but dragged on for much too long and an absolutely ridiculous outcome. Over complicated. Angered me that I wasted my time reading it.
Plot was ok but dragged on for much too long and an absolutely ridiculous outcome. Over complicated. Angered me that I wasted my time reading it.
January 15, 2015
This book just did not flow for me. Was messy. The story kept jumping about at times leaving me rather confused. Couldn't wait for it to end.
February 1, 2016
Awful, just dreadful. I was suckered into reading it by some deluded publicist's favorable comparisons to du Maurier, Christie and Atkinson. The book's premise and, to be fair, the first 100 pages or so are promising, but not only is the prose unremarkable, but the story is unnecessarily convoluted and hard to follow... and the climax and denouement are completely bungled (Minor spoiler: I am still not quite sure what happens here - we go from the murderer holding a gun to the heroine's head to her running into the arms of her rescuer with no clue as to why he doesn't shoot her or what happens next). The pace is REALLY sluggish, especially the author's penchant for beginning a chapter or section a few minutes (or an hour... or a day), after where we last left off... and then BACKTRACKING; and then weaving in and out of time zones, so that you feel like you are at a virtual standstill. I wish I had abandoned this halfway through, as I was sorely tempted to do ... not worth finishing.
December 28, 2014
Thirteen years ago a teenaged Esme Grace was the sole survivor of a horrendous attack which left her entire family dead. Now, with a new life and a new identity (Alison), she has to return to the scene of her childhood, Saltleigh, and face up to the events of the past.
I found this a really gripping, riveting read. Firstly, I really liked the idea of the village of Saltleigh itself. A creepy coastal village set on the Thames estuary peopled by a very “closed in” group. They don’t like outsiders here, and will close ranks against the outside world to protect their own, whatever they think they might have done and are quite prepared to carry out their own form of justice. Will they recognise her after all these years and, if so, what will their reaction be?
It is a book that just oozes with underlying menace. I don’t think there was a single page where that feeling that our heroine was in danger or was with someone who shouldn’t be trusted wasn’t present. There are a lot of characters in the book, which is told with flashbacks from the present back to Esme/Alison’s childhood and the events of “that night” so it is a book that you need to keep your wits about you for. Every single character we meet in Saltleigh seems to be somewhere on the scale between shifty and downright evil. You just get that feeling that not a single one of them is to be trusted.
The only real downside of the book for me was the part later on in the read involving her London friends Kay/Rosa which somehow felt a little forced and just didn’t strike the right chord with me, but on the whole I found this very dark, psychological chiller to be completely unputdownable. The plotline itself is quite complex, with a very detailed set of events leading up to the deaths of Esme/Alison’s family being revealed to us in bits and pieces throughout the book. Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
I found this a really gripping, riveting read. Firstly, I really liked the idea of the village of Saltleigh itself. A creepy coastal village set on the Thames estuary peopled by a very “closed in” group. They don’t like outsiders here, and will close ranks against the outside world to protect their own, whatever they think they might have done and are quite prepared to carry out their own form of justice. Will they recognise her after all these years and, if so, what will their reaction be?
It is a book that just oozes with underlying menace. I don’t think there was a single page where that feeling that our heroine was in danger or was with someone who shouldn’t be trusted wasn’t present. There are a lot of characters in the book, which is told with flashbacks from the present back to Esme/Alison’s childhood and the events of “that night” so it is a book that you need to keep your wits about you for. Every single character we meet in Saltleigh seems to be somewhere on the scale between shifty and downright evil. You just get that feeling that not a single one of them is to be trusted.
The only real downside of the book for me was the part later on in the read involving her London friends Kay/Rosa which somehow felt a little forced and just didn’t strike the right chord with me, but on the whole I found this very dark, psychological chiller to be completely unputdownable. The plotline itself is quite complex, with a very detailed set of events leading up to the deaths of Esme/Alison’s family being revealed to us in bits and pieces throughout the book. Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
November 29, 2014
This was an extremely atmospheric haunting tale, very addictive and beautifully written. A definite page turner for sure and one that will stay with you.
Alison used to be Esme – until a terrible tragedy found her with a name change and new location, she has worked hard to leave the past behind her and she keeps it hidden from those around her. When her boyfriend Paul persuades her to acccompany him to a wedding, she is reluctantly drawn back to her childhood home and finds herself haunted by memories of that terrible time and its aftermath. But memory is a strange and wonderful thing and as she reconnects with people from back then, she realises that the truth she has believed for so long may be a false one.
Intelligently plotted to keep you right in the story, this is a psychological mystery with a really likeable and sympathetic heroine at its heart – Alison/Esme is damaged yet braver than she thinks she is and you will be right there with her as she works her way through some difficult memories and tries to untangle the web of deceit, half truths and childhood innocence. The theme of child memory versus adult memory is extremely fascinating, as Alison puts a grown up spin on her flashbacks, especially relating to her parents and siblings. It is endlessy captivating and compelling throughout.
Surrounding Alison are various eclectic and intriguing supporting characters, some of which may be friend, some foe, all eminently enthralling and elegantly drawn. The relationship between Paul and Alison is definitely gripping and as it developed over the course of the novel I was jumping between wanting Alison to tell him everything and wanting her to tell him nothing. Some more peripheral characters, such as Kay and Aunt Polly I would have liked to know more about – of the rest they are all wonderfully puzzling – little conundrums that solve themselves over the course of the reading experience.
The sense of place is magnificently captured – the small community closing ranks around its own, the estuary at times both creepy and beautiful – and of course at the heart of it the little “Crooked House” of the title – the place where Esme morphed into Alison and this story has its soul. Brilliantly achieved.
Overall then a great read – one of the ones to look out for in January, a top notch tale that makes you very eager to see what the author comes up with next and also revisit her previous novels.
Alison used to be Esme – until a terrible tragedy found her with a name change and new location, she has worked hard to leave the past behind her and she keeps it hidden from those around her. When her boyfriend Paul persuades her to acccompany him to a wedding, she is reluctantly drawn back to her childhood home and finds herself haunted by memories of that terrible time and its aftermath. But memory is a strange and wonderful thing and as she reconnects with people from back then, she realises that the truth she has believed for so long may be a false one.
Intelligently plotted to keep you right in the story, this is a psychological mystery with a really likeable and sympathetic heroine at its heart – Alison/Esme is damaged yet braver than she thinks she is and you will be right there with her as she works her way through some difficult memories and tries to untangle the web of deceit, half truths and childhood innocence. The theme of child memory versus adult memory is extremely fascinating, as Alison puts a grown up spin on her flashbacks, especially relating to her parents and siblings. It is endlessy captivating and compelling throughout.
Surrounding Alison are various eclectic and intriguing supporting characters, some of which may be friend, some foe, all eminently enthralling and elegantly drawn. The relationship between Paul and Alison is definitely gripping and as it developed over the course of the novel I was jumping between wanting Alison to tell him everything and wanting her to tell him nothing. Some more peripheral characters, such as Kay and Aunt Polly I would have liked to know more about – of the rest they are all wonderfully puzzling – little conundrums that solve themselves over the course of the reading experience.
The sense of place is magnificently captured – the small community closing ranks around its own, the estuary at times both creepy and beautiful – and of course at the heart of it the little “Crooked House” of the title – the place where Esme morphed into Alison and this story has its soul. Brilliantly achieved.
Overall then a great read – one of the ones to look out for in January, a top notch tale that makes you very eager to see what the author comes up with next and also revisit her previous novels.
April 15, 2015
The Crooked House is the 10th novel published by English writer Christobel Kent.
It is a whodunit psychological thriller written mainly in the third person, mostly from the point of view of the main character, Alison/Esme Grace, the sole survivor of a family massacre 13 years earlier.
The narration moves from the present, to the recent past and to events much further back, as we follow Alison's trains of thought and memories.
The story is interesting, atmospheric and brooding, and it unfolds in non-linear stages, with twists, blind turns and new revelations, during 4 days, when Alison finds herself back in the the village she had fled when her family was murdered.
The character of Alison is well developed and realistic, as are most of the other peripheral personae.
The topics of trust and interpersonal relationships are paramount; who can you trust at work in a big city, your co-workers? Or in a small isolated village, the close-knit locals or the outsiders? Can you ever leave your past behind?
The clues are there, at each step, and quite early on I had put together most of the pieces, hence for me there weren't any big revelations at the end. All was explained, however the biggest plot hole for me is the timeline itself. Why is this happening 13 years later, when Alison is 27 years old? Why not sooner?
All in all this was fundamentally a very good story, and the presentation itself could have been used to great effect to create a truly unique and engaging page turner. Unfortunately, this book completely missed its mark in its delivery.
The writing style was tortuous, difficult to follow, it often seemed to lack the correct orthographical structure. Often sentences were convoluted and void of easily comprehensible meaning. The language felt pretentious and repetitive at times (for example, you can play a drinking game based on the word "eddy"). It took me a long time to finish this piece.
Time frames were also too muddled, it was a struggle to figure out when the events being portrayed had actually occurred and who the protagonists were. There was virtually no demarcation between switches in time. One moment you would be in the present and the next you would find yourself reliving an earlier conversation, to then switch back to the present and swiftly find yourself 10 years the past.
The Crooked House could have been great, but ended up just being ok.
(ARC received via Netgalley)
BooksChatter
It is a whodunit psychological thriller written mainly in the third person, mostly from the point of view of the main character, Alison/Esme Grace, the sole survivor of a family massacre 13 years earlier.
The narration moves from the present, to the recent past and to events much further back, as we follow Alison's trains of thought and memories.
The story is interesting, atmospheric and brooding, and it unfolds in non-linear stages, with twists, blind turns and new revelations, during 4 days, when Alison finds herself back in the the village she had fled when her family was murdered.
The character of Alison is well developed and realistic, as are most of the other peripheral personae.
The topics of trust and interpersonal relationships are paramount; who can you trust at work in a big city, your co-workers? Or in a small isolated village, the close-knit locals or the outsiders? Can you ever leave your past behind?
The clues are there, at each step, and quite early on I had put together most of the pieces, hence for me there weren't any big revelations at the end. All was explained, however the biggest plot hole for me is the timeline itself. Why is this happening 13 years later, when Alison is 27 years old? Why not sooner?
All in all this was fundamentally a very good story, and the presentation itself could have been used to great effect to create a truly unique and engaging page turner. Unfortunately, this book completely missed its mark in its delivery.
The writing style was tortuous, difficult to follow, it often seemed to lack the correct orthographical structure. Often sentences were convoluted and void of easily comprehensible meaning. The language felt pretentious and repetitive at times (for example, you can play a drinking game based on the word "eddy"). It took me a long time to finish this piece.
Time frames were also too muddled, it was a struggle to figure out when the events being portrayed had actually occurred and who the protagonists were. There was virtually no demarcation between switches in time. One moment you would be in the present and the next you would find yourself reliving an earlier conversation, to then switch back to the present and swiftly find yourself 10 years the past.
The Crooked House could have been great, but ended up just being ok.
(ARC received via Netgalley)
BooksChatter
February 28, 2015
I thought the book was very well written and had a good flow of direction until Chapter 12. Then the book just slid downhill. For me. Esme escaped a brutal family tragedy and never really got the answers she was looking for. She went back to her hometown when her boyfriend was invited to attend a wedding. I never got a good vibe from the boyfriend at all. The book could of went in so many better directions.
February 18, 2016
The Crooked House by Christobel Kent is written in the same vein as Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, but with those two books, which are easy reads and very enjoyable thrillers, The Crooked House is a mess. It's convoluted, confusing, and very trippy, as if the main protagonist is high or drunk most of the time. I don't know if this was intentional, but the writing feels sloppy and unedited, with too many characters to keep track of. Even with the sinister undertones, The Crooked House fails on the delivery with a ho hum ending, even though you won't have any idea the outcome until the last few pages.
13 years ago the 14 year old Alison, who was once Esme, came downstairs from her bedroom to find her entire family murdered- her mother, older brother and twin sisters were shot. Her father did the murders (Or so the police believe), but was left as a vegetable because the shot to his head didn't kill him. Alison was spared because she snuck into her bedroom after leaving a girlfriend's house after some sort of fight. Her aunt took her in, and far away from the town and the crime, hoping Alison would recover. Now as an adult, she appears to be well adjusted. She's dating a lovely man named Paul, who she met at a party.
Paul is invited to the wedding of an ex-girlfriend of sorts. He asks Alison to come as his guest. The kicker is that the wedding is in the same town where Alison's family was murdered. Because Paul doesn't have any clue about Alison's past, she goes with him even though she could have a mental breakdown. As soon as she arrives back in her hometown, her paranoia and suspicions grow. She comes to the conclusion that her father couldn't have murdered her family, and will find the real killer or killers, regardless of the dangers. Alison could get killed if she reveals the secrets of the town so many there want to forget.
The Crooked House has this sinister atmosphere throughout the story, and should have readers on the edge of the seat, but the back and forth between past and present, and the amount of names and faces, including events are thrown out willy nilly. Alison comes across as too spooked and emotionally damaged. She isn't developed at all, making it hard to connect with her. There's also a lot head jumping, and at times over the top dramatics to trick readers into thinking something else is happening. Her relationship with Paul odd. Is he a nice guy or a controlling, manipulative person who may want to harm Alison? We keep circling back to this couple too often, but they're both mundane with their actions and thoughts.
I felt like I had to keep a chart to keep track of things. By the end I was exhausted reading because as things are peeling away and revealed, it seemed complex but it was more along the lines of puzzle pieces thrown together for no rhyme or reason.
A Total Mess would have been a better title.
13 years ago the 14 year old Alison, who was once Esme, came downstairs from her bedroom to find her entire family murdered- her mother, older brother and twin sisters were shot. Her father did the murders (Or so the police believe), but was left as a vegetable because the shot to his head didn't kill him. Alison was spared because she snuck into her bedroom after leaving a girlfriend's house after some sort of fight. Her aunt took her in, and far away from the town and the crime, hoping Alison would recover. Now as an adult, she appears to be well adjusted. She's dating a lovely man named Paul, who she met at a party.
Paul is invited to the wedding of an ex-girlfriend of sorts. He asks Alison to come as his guest. The kicker is that the wedding is in the same town where Alison's family was murdered. Because Paul doesn't have any clue about Alison's past, she goes with him even though she could have a mental breakdown. As soon as she arrives back in her hometown, her paranoia and suspicions grow. She comes to the conclusion that her father couldn't have murdered her family, and will find the real killer or killers, regardless of the dangers. Alison could get killed if she reveals the secrets of the town so many there want to forget.
The Crooked House has this sinister atmosphere throughout the story, and should have readers on the edge of the seat, but the back and forth between past and present, and the amount of names and faces, including events are thrown out willy nilly. Alison comes across as too spooked and emotionally damaged. She isn't developed at all, making it hard to connect with her. There's also a lot head jumping, and at times over the top dramatics to trick readers into thinking something else is happening. Her relationship with Paul odd. Is he a nice guy or a controlling, manipulative person who may want to harm Alison? We keep circling back to this couple too often, but they're both mundane with their actions and thoughts.
I felt like I had to keep a chart to keep track of things. By the end I was exhausted reading because as things are peeling away and revealed, it seemed complex but it was more along the lines of puzzle pieces thrown together for no rhyme or reason.
A Total Mess would have been a better title.
May 22, 2021
I've not had a good run with books lately, but The Crooked House would represent a new low. This is one of the worst books I've read in some time.
The writing style is very confusing. I don't consider myself to be a dummy, but this was very difficult to follow. The writing often feels like a stream of consciousness. Main character Alison is the protagonist. She is still effectively in hiding from her past. Thirteen years ago, her entire family was murdered, and she was the only survivor. She was Esme back then, and changed her name to Alison to avoid people knowing who she is or the details of her sordid history.
Throughout the book, Alison is constantly shifting back in time to when she was Esme. The events will change from the present, to the past, to the present, to other previous points in time, frequently within the same paragraph, or even the same sentence! It was often hard to figure out at what point in time events were actually happening! After a while, I began to get used to this tactic, but it made the book unnecessarily confusing and very convoluted.
I did manage to figure out the main thrust of the plot. Alison goes back to her hometown, 13 years after her family was murdered (her father was identified as the killer, but now a "vegetable" in hospital, having blown his brains out after supposedly killing his wife, son and twin daughters), because her new boyfriend, Paul, is attending the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, Morgan. Memories are dragged to the surface, and Alison begins to wonder whether her father really was responsible for her family's death at all.
But this was just very, very slow and very, very dull. The convoluted writing style, while technically correct, made events difficult to follow. Lots and lots of description of scenery meant I often found myself skimming material whenever I could be bothered to pick the book up again in an effort to finish it. I've often said before, excessive description will take me right out of a book. I prefer a focus on plotting and characterisation. If you don't have at least that, what are you left with?
And in the end, barely any of what transpired made a great deal of sense.
Screw this book. It was confusingly written, not much made sense, all the characters were either stupid, hateful or unlikeable, there was too much unnecessary description, the dialogue was unrealistic, it was repetitive (Alison would be approached by people simply for them to not actually reveal anything and tell her to leave town) and was just all around awful, stupid and time-wasting.
The writing style is very confusing. I don't consider myself to be a dummy, but this was very difficult to follow. The writing often feels like a stream of consciousness. Main character Alison is the protagonist. She is still effectively in hiding from her past. Thirteen years ago, her entire family was murdered, and she was the only survivor. She was Esme back then, and changed her name to Alison to avoid people knowing who she is or the details of her sordid history.
Throughout the book, Alison is constantly shifting back in time to when she was Esme. The events will change from the present, to the past, to the present, to other previous points in time, frequently within the same paragraph, or even the same sentence! It was often hard to figure out at what point in time events were actually happening! After a while, I began to get used to this tactic, but it made the book unnecessarily confusing and very convoluted.
I did manage to figure out the main thrust of the plot. Alison goes back to her hometown, 13 years after her family was murdered (her father was identified as the killer, but now a "vegetable" in hospital, having blown his brains out after supposedly killing his wife, son and twin daughters), because her new boyfriend, Paul, is attending the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, Morgan. Memories are dragged to the surface, and Alison begins to wonder whether her father really was responsible for her family's death at all.
But this was just very, very slow and very, very dull. The convoluted writing style, while technically correct, made events difficult to follow. Lots and lots of description of scenery meant I often found myself skimming material whenever I could be bothered to pick the book up again in an effort to finish it. I've often said before, excessive description will take me right out of a book. I prefer a focus on plotting and characterisation. If you don't have at least that, what are you left with?
And in the end, barely any of what transpired made a great deal of sense.
Screw this book. It was confusingly written, not much made sense, all the characters were either stupid, hateful or unlikeable, there was too much unnecessary description, the dialogue was unrealistic, it was repetitive (Alison would be approached by people simply for them to not actually reveal anything and tell her to leave town) and was just all around awful, stupid and time-wasting.
January 10, 2015
When Esme Grace was thirteen years old something catastrophic happened to her family. She had to change her name, cut herself off from the past and start a new life as a new person.
She chose the name Alison, because she had gone to school with four girls named Alison, and she believed her choice would help her to remain anonymous. She created a fiction that was close – but not to close – to the past, she chose a career path that would allow her to stay, unnoticed, in the back office, and she lived a quiet life, with no involvements and no entanglements.
She was wary when Paul, a successful older man, took an interest in her, but he didn’t talk about his past and he didn’t ask about hers. A relationship – of sorts – developed.
A wedding invitation arrived. Paul was invited to the wedding of his closest childhood friend; of course he wanted to go, of course he wanted Alison to go with him. Her problem was that the wedding would be in the same small town where Esme had been living with her family when that family was destroyed.
Alison didn’t want to explain why she didn’t want to go, she didn’t want Paul to go without her and have things said, and so she decided that she had to be brave. She told herself that she could cope, that the past would have been forgotten, that nobody would recognise her.
She was wrong, on all three counts.
This is a story with many familiar elements – a family destroyed, a lone survivor, an uncovering of what really happened – but Christobel Kent tells this particular story so well; with intelligence and insight, with emotional intensity, that it feels entirely natural to care and to keep turning pages.
The setting is evocative: a small town where everyone knows everyone else and where locals would close ranks against outsiders.
Maybe that was what had happened to Esme’s parents when they moved to the town with their young family, full of plans to restore the dilapidated house on the outskirts of town, the house that was known locally as ‘The Crooked House.’
Maybe there was somebody in the town who had been involved in what had happened, somebody who knew what had happened, somebody who was keeping secrets.
Alison wondered about that as she slipped away to try to see places and people she hadn’t seen since she was a child, sometimes hoping and sometimes fearing that she could work out what had happened on that terrible night.
She really didn’t know how much she had lost – or supressed – as a result of the trauma. She realised that there may have been things that she hadn’t understood as a child that she would understand as an adult. And though she feared that she would have to face painful truths, that she might be happier not knowing, she knew that she had to press on.
I felt for her and I feared for her, I really did. And that says much about the skill with which Christobel Kent drew her character, her situation and her story.
I must also praise the atmosphere she created, rich with intrigue and menace, and clever way she suggested possibilities as the story moved forward.
There were elements of the story that lacked credibility – unlikely coincidences, unwarranted assumptions, obvious unasked questions – but I’m not going to point out details because the story that plays out – Alison’s story and Esme’s story – worked, and it held me to the very end.
She chose the name Alison, because she had gone to school with four girls named Alison, and she believed her choice would help her to remain anonymous. She created a fiction that was close – but not to close – to the past, she chose a career path that would allow her to stay, unnoticed, in the back office, and she lived a quiet life, with no involvements and no entanglements.
She was wary when Paul, a successful older man, took an interest in her, but he didn’t talk about his past and he didn’t ask about hers. A relationship – of sorts – developed.
A wedding invitation arrived. Paul was invited to the wedding of his closest childhood friend; of course he wanted to go, of course he wanted Alison to go with him. Her problem was that the wedding would be in the same small town where Esme had been living with her family when that family was destroyed.
Alison didn’t want to explain why she didn’t want to go, she didn’t want Paul to go without her and have things said, and so she decided that she had to be brave. She told herself that she could cope, that the past would have been forgotten, that nobody would recognise her.
She was wrong, on all three counts.
This is a story with many familiar elements – a family destroyed, a lone survivor, an uncovering of what really happened – but Christobel Kent tells this particular story so well; with intelligence and insight, with emotional intensity, that it feels entirely natural to care and to keep turning pages.
The setting is evocative: a small town where everyone knows everyone else and where locals would close ranks against outsiders.
Maybe that was what had happened to Esme’s parents when they moved to the town with their young family, full of plans to restore the dilapidated house on the outskirts of town, the house that was known locally as ‘The Crooked House.’
Maybe there was somebody in the town who had been involved in what had happened, somebody who knew what had happened, somebody who was keeping secrets.
Alison wondered about that as she slipped away to try to see places and people she hadn’t seen since she was a child, sometimes hoping and sometimes fearing that she could work out what had happened on that terrible night.
She really didn’t know how much she had lost – or supressed – as a result of the trauma. She realised that there may have been things that she hadn’t understood as a child that she would understand as an adult. And though she feared that she would have to face painful truths, that she might be happier not knowing, she knew that she had to press on.
I felt for her and I feared for her, I really did. And that says much about the skill with which Christobel Kent drew her character, her situation and her story.
I must also praise the atmosphere she created, rich with intrigue and menace, and clever way she suggested possibilities as the story moved forward.
There were elements of the story that lacked credibility – unlikely coincidences, unwarranted assumptions, obvious unasked questions – but I’m not going to point out details because the story that plays out – Alison’s story and Esme’s story – worked, and it held me to the very end.
October 2, 2018
I liked this very different sort of thriller from an author I have never read before. It starts by telling the story of Esme Grace, who became Alison to shield her identity, when 13 years before someone entered the house Esme and her family lived in, and murdered her mother, brother and half-sisters in cold blood. Her father was left severely brain damaged and is in an institution and doctors say he will never speak again. Esme's parents had moved to an isolated English coastal town to make a fresh start. Her father had problems with alcohol, and her mother had problems with infidelity. The town had decided that her father had done the killings, not knowing Esme had returned home and was upstairs in her room. When the family moved to this small village, they had no idea how bad things would become and had no idea what living in such a small town is like, where everyone knows everyone else's business. Esme's parents fought quite a bit, but not violently. Her mother sought out the company of another man to basically escape her marriage, although she loved her children dearly. The trouble begins when one of the twin girls needs a blood transfusion, and the hospital finds that Esme's father's blood is not a match; i.e. the twins belonged to another father. The small village is no stranger to tragedies; there have been many in this deserted coastal village, including children with leukemia, a hit and run accident of a child, and others. Fast forward 13 years to London and Alison is working for a publishing house where she meets Dr. Paul Bartlett who is at least 15 years older than she is. They begin a romance and one day Paul asks Alison to accompany him to Saltleigh, the small town she had lived in 13 years before, for a wedding. She screws up her courage and decides to go. She does not realize it at the time, but most of the people living in the village recognize her, although she is almost 30 years old now. Strange things begin to happen almost from the outset of the five day visit to the town. She gets in touch with her former best friend, she meets the Carter family whose daughter, Morgan, is the one getting married. Morgan's father is a medical doctor, but he practices two towns away; apparently, he thinks he is too good to treat his fellow villagers; and his wife has a drinking problem. From the outset, Alison senses something 'off' about the relationship between Morgan and Paul, and when asked, Paul tells her the two used to date each other. Since Alison was just a teen when she lost her family, she has no idea what her return to Saltleigh sets in motion. One thing she is sure of: her father did not kill the rest of her family and then try to commit suicide. Page by page, the answers slowly come, and in this atmospheric novel, the truth of that long ago November night is shocking.
September 5, 2016
This was pretty bad. Not a single character acted like a normal human. No one talked to each other. Everyone acted super creepy for no reason.
OH MY GOD THE ENDING.
OH MY GOD THE ENDING.
September 22, 2015
Review to follow.
January 14, 2015
This review is from: The Crooked House (Hardcover)
When Alison Grace was born she was named Esme Grace but after a terrible event befell her whilst she was still in her mid-teens she changed her name, choosing Alison because she went to school with four girls named Alison, reason enough to believe the name would grant her the anonymity she needed. Thirteen years later she has learnt to play her cards close to her chest and lives and bland life bereft of anyone who knows what happened in her past. All that changes when she meets Paul, a man who doesn’t seem interested in her past, a man who doesn’t need to understand her. All goes swimmingly until one day an invitation arrives for a wedding, the only problem is being held at the very place where Alison’s story begins and he is determined that she accompanies him. Unable to relinquish Paul, Alison decides to front it out but soon she regrets her decision.
This book deals with memories, a subject that I find enormously intriguing, what we remember and how it is remembered could be determined by the amount of trauma or of course the depth of understanding we have at the time as well as the inevitable re-writing of events to fit the narrative that makes most sense at the time. The memories that Esme/Alison is trying to grasp are partially obscured due to her age and partially, you have to surmise, because she hasn’t wanted to remember, better perhaps to have a half-formed narrative than one that causes you to confront some painful truths?
The Crooked House is just that, an odd looking house set in a small community, a setting which breeds secrets, half-truths and rumours, and best of all, a distrust of anyone from ‘outside.’ Has this community really been able to mask the truth for so many years not just about Alison but the other tragedies that surfaced around the same time. Who are the unseen watchers, who wants the stories supressed? As we meet the different characters they all have part of the tale to tell, nothing is quite straightforward and yet all these different strands build a picture of what really happened in the Crooked House over time.
This is a complex novel, the narrative swirls around and there are many characters to keep track of but this adds to the feeling of dread of what Alison is going to find out, what she should be sharing and what she should be keeping a secret. It is a compelling tale, I longed to find out the truth yet at the same time so absorbed was I in this dark tale that I dreaded what was going to emerge.
Christobel Kent has created a story that is positively swirling with menace and intrigue with a protagonist who simply doesn’t know who or what to believe, the clever slicing of the different character’s stories raising this tale well above the generic small town mystery.
I am grateful to the publishers Little Brown Group UK who allowed me to read this book in return for my review.
When Alison Grace was born she was named Esme Grace but after a terrible event befell her whilst she was still in her mid-teens she changed her name, choosing Alison because she went to school with four girls named Alison, reason enough to believe the name would grant her the anonymity she needed. Thirteen years later she has learnt to play her cards close to her chest and lives and bland life bereft of anyone who knows what happened in her past. All that changes when she meets Paul, a man who doesn’t seem interested in her past, a man who doesn’t need to understand her. All goes swimmingly until one day an invitation arrives for a wedding, the only problem is being held at the very place where Alison’s story begins and he is determined that she accompanies him. Unable to relinquish Paul, Alison decides to front it out but soon she regrets her decision.
This book deals with memories, a subject that I find enormously intriguing, what we remember and how it is remembered could be determined by the amount of trauma or of course the depth of understanding we have at the time as well as the inevitable re-writing of events to fit the narrative that makes most sense at the time. The memories that Esme/Alison is trying to grasp are partially obscured due to her age and partially, you have to surmise, because she hasn’t wanted to remember, better perhaps to have a half-formed narrative than one that causes you to confront some painful truths?
The Crooked House is just that, an odd looking house set in a small community, a setting which breeds secrets, half-truths and rumours, and best of all, a distrust of anyone from ‘outside.’ Has this community really been able to mask the truth for so many years not just about Alison but the other tragedies that surfaced around the same time. Who are the unseen watchers, who wants the stories supressed? As we meet the different characters they all have part of the tale to tell, nothing is quite straightforward and yet all these different strands build a picture of what really happened in the Crooked House over time.
This is a complex novel, the narrative swirls around and there are many characters to keep track of but this adds to the feeling of dread of what Alison is going to find out, what she should be sharing and what she should be keeping a secret. It is a compelling tale, I longed to find out the truth yet at the same time so absorbed was I in this dark tale that I dreaded what was going to emerge.
Christobel Kent has created a story that is positively swirling with menace and intrigue with a protagonist who simply doesn’t know who or what to believe, the clever slicing of the different character’s stories raising this tale well above the generic small town mystery.
I am grateful to the publishers Little Brown Group UK who allowed me to read this book in return for my review.
January 31, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this rather twisty tale about Alison, a young woman who maintains a low profile, keeps herself to herself and is a survivor, literally.
She survived the unthinkable, surviving a horrific event, in her teens which would make the strongest of us crumble. When she went by a different name, when she was Esme, living in the crooked house in a remote rural location her family were cruelly and brutally slaughtered, whilst she cowered praying not to be dsicovered. But to say she esacped unscathed would be a lie. Witnessing such an awful events is bound to leave a mark. Little wonder as an adult she finds it difficult to make friends, to trust people and maintain a relationship. Her judgement can be flawed and whilst holding it together outwardly she can be a little flaky, and who can blame her.
When she finally meets a man she feels she can trust and is given the chance to return to the place she lost everything, she thinks maybe its time to face her demons, but going back can be as hard as moving forward and she begins to doubt her own memories, who can she trust if she can't even trust herself?
The crooked house is a creepy place set in a very tight knit rural location called Saltleigh where the locals mistrust incomers and seem to close ranks together.
Its a clever and twisty psychological thriller, a real page turner. My only small gripe is there are quite a lot of secondary characters to get to grips with and I did get rather confused especially in the middle of the book, when I wasn't sure who was who and who did what to whom any more!
I did like Alison/ Esme and felt sympathy for her, even when at one point she seems to be losing the plot a bit. I just kept thinking how could anyone go through what she had without being a gibbering wreck and admired her fortitude.
It's gripping and exciting and will probably appeal to anyone who enjoyed Broadchurch on tv as it has that same small town closed shop feel.
She survived the unthinkable, surviving a horrific event, in her teens which would make the strongest of us crumble. When she went by a different name, when she was Esme, living in the crooked house in a remote rural location her family were cruelly and brutally slaughtered, whilst she cowered praying not to be dsicovered. But to say she esacped unscathed would be a lie. Witnessing such an awful events is bound to leave a mark. Little wonder as an adult she finds it difficult to make friends, to trust people and maintain a relationship. Her judgement can be flawed and whilst holding it together outwardly she can be a little flaky, and who can blame her.
When she finally meets a man she feels she can trust and is given the chance to return to the place she lost everything, she thinks maybe its time to face her demons, but going back can be as hard as moving forward and she begins to doubt her own memories, who can she trust if she can't even trust herself?
The crooked house is a creepy place set in a very tight knit rural location called Saltleigh where the locals mistrust incomers and seem to close ranks together.
Its a clever and twisty psychological thriller, a real page turner. My only small gripe is there are quite a lot of secondary characters to get to grips with and I did get rather confused especially in the middle of the book, when I wasn't sure who was who and who did what to whom any more!
I did like Alison/ Esme and felt sympathy for her, even when at one point she seems to be losing the plot a bit. I just kept thinking how could anyone go through what she had without being a gibbering wreck and admired her fortitude.
It's gripping and exciting and will probably appeal to anyone who enjoyed Broadchurch on tv as it has that same small town closed shop feel.
February 11, 2015
I was so looking forward to reading this, it looked good.
I am not saying it wasn't a good book but I was really confused from beginning to half way through [at least] it appeared disjointed. Is this a new style of writing? I took ages and it used a lot of brain power which caused some fatigue in keeping up.
Once I was over the half way mark, it all seemed to make sense, it took me that long to get used to this authors style of writing.
I don't usually find books so hard to get into and I hate giving up on a book, but once I got over the halfway mark, although things slotted into place, and I understood this authors way of writing, I still couldn't finish it.
I so wish I could be like the other reviewers on here and say it was fab.........once I got the hang of the style of writing, but tedious. Really hard work.
I would like to thank Little, Brown Book Group UK via Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy to read and review
I am not saying it wasn't a good book but I was really confused from beginning to half way through [at least] it appeared disjointed. Is this a new style of writing? I took ages and it used a lot of brain power which caused some fatigue in keeping up.
Once I was over the half way mark, it all seemed to make sense, it took me that long to get used to this authors style of writing.
I don't usually find books so hard to get into and I hate giving up on a book, but once I got over the halfway mark, although things slotted into place, and I understood this authors way of writing, I still couldn't finish it.
I so wish I could be like the other reviewers on here and say it was fab.........once I got the hang of the style of writing, but tedious. Really hard work.
I would like to thank Little, Brown Book Group UK via Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy to read and review
April 26, 2016
I didn’t like Paul almost from the beginning and it bothered me that Alison was with him, which undermined me getting to like her. So in the end, I didn’t really like any of the characters. I didn’t really understand Gina or her attitude towards Alison or her motivations. I didn’t understand why the South African fiancé would marry that horrible woman whose name slips my mind. She and Paul were meant for each other and not in a good way. Also, I would have liked to know more about the extramarital affair. We didn’t get any info on what led to how things turned out in Alison’s parents’ marriage. I would have liked to know more so that I could feel empathy. In the end, I didn’t really care about anybody except the kids.
The structure was interesting. A conversation would take place but you almost never found out what was said until later. I didn’t mind that at first but it got a little tiresome after a while.
I almost would have liked to have a map of the place!
The structure was interesting. A conversation would take place but you almost never found out what was said until later. I didn’t mind that at first but it got a little tiresome after a while.
I almost would have liked to have a map of the place!
January 13, 2015
Firstly thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ARC.
Christobel Kent is a new author for me and I wasn't sure what to expect, The premise of the book coupled with some really positive reviews set me on the road to reading this psychological thriller.
The story is one of how a young girl (Esme) who survived a brutally traumatic event whereby her family were shot one by one whilst she had been in her bedroom upstairs. Cut to thirteen years later and the girl is now a young woman living out a new life with a new identity (Alison) in London. Alison has managed a fairly reasonable day to day existence, holding down a job, meeting new friends and is now dating a college professor (Paul) who is fifteen years her senior. Paul has been invited to an old friend's wedding but what he doesn't realise is that it's in Alison's hometown where she grew up and where the terrible events occurred. The story then continues with Alison going home effectively and trying to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. Did things occur as she remembered them as a young child?
It's a tightly woven plot for sure but with what I thought was really quite convoluted storytelling. So it's unfortunate that I struggled to really engage with this one. The narratives kept constantly changing with no clear distinction, timeframes changed just as constantly. So it would either be in the past to that tragic night or in the present again with little distinction whilst reading. I found it a strange way of writing and it just didn't flow for me at all. It felt really disjointed and, if I'm honest, hard work. There was a large cast of characters, and I would often forget who was who and had nothing to refer to as I was reading an ebook. Even the placement and settings did nothing much for me. It was well described and all felt suitably bleak in the small costal village with vivid descriptions of marshes, crumbled houses and muddy shorelines.
What was done well was the dark sinister feel throughout, always lurking beneath were undertones of dread and fear. It was always going to get horrible before it got better. It's a good story and answers are not really fed through until near the end and even then you're never quite sure which way it will go. I came up with a few theories, including the right one, certainly enough characters to suspect!! It's not a bad book by any stretch, more that the style of writing just didn't work for me on this occasion. I'm sure many though would really love this.
Christobel Kent is a new author for me and I wasn't sure what to expect, The premise of the book coupled with some really positive reviews set me on the road to reading this psychological thriller.
The story is one of how a young girl (Esme) who survived a brutally traumatic event whereby her family were shot one by one whilst she had been in her bedroom upstairs. Cut to thirteen years later and the girl is now a young woman living out a new life with a new identity (Alison) in London. Alison has managed a fairly reasonable day to day existence, holding down a job, meeting new friends and is now dating a college professor (Paul) who is fifteen years her senior. Paul has been invited to an old friend's wedding but what he doesn't realise is that it's in Alison's hometown where she grew up and where the terrible events occurred. The story then continues with Alison going home effectively and trying to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. Did things occur as she remembered them as a young child?
It's a tightly woven plot for sure but with what I thought was really quite convoluted storytelling. So it's unfortunate that I struggled to really engage with this one. The narratives kept constantly changing with no clear distinction, timeframes changed just as constantly. So it would either be in the past to that tragic night or in the present again with little distinction whilst reading. I found it a strange way of writing and it just didn't flow for me at all. It felt really disjointed and, if I'm honest, hard work. There was a large cast of characters, and I would often forget who was who and had nothing to refer to as I was reading an ebook. Even the placement and settings did nothing much for me. It was well described and all felt suitably bleak in the small costal village with vivid descriptions of marshes, crumbled houses and muddy shorelines.
What was done well was the dark sinister feel throughout, always lurking beneath were undertones of dread and fear. It was always going to get horrible before it got better. It's a good story and answers are not really fed through until near the end and even then you're never quite sure which way it will go. I came up with a few theories, including the right one, certainly enough characters to suspect!! It's not a bad book by any stretch, more that the style of writing just didn't work for me on this occasion. I'm sure many though would really love this.
January 5, 2015
I won a copy of this book in a giveaway run by the publisher. This is my honest opinion of the book.
Alison has put her past behind her. She is no longer the young girl who lived in The Crooked House by the sea. She has a different name, a different history. She has no family as they were taken from her in that house a long time ago. She had vowed never to return but a wedding back in the village of her youth means revisiting the past and allowing long suppressed memories to resurface. As they do Alison begins to suspect that the events surrounding her family's deaths was not as it first appears.
This is the first Christobel Kent novel I have read and it certainly won't be the last. This is an engrossing, dark and almost hypnotic read. From the first page I was drawn in to the tragic world of Alison, eager to find out what happened to her and her family. There is an overriding sense of foreboding and darkness filling every page and this is maintained throughout the story. I could easily imagine the bleak, grey village where secrets lurk under the surface. As the reader, you are aware that not everything is as it seems but are one step behind. making the danger to Alison seem all the more palpable.
The characters are all well drawn, all flawed with secrets of their own to hide. None are particularly likeable with a few certain exceptions. Alison herself is realistically portrayed as a flawed and damaged character, distrustful of all, secretive and lonely. The portrayal of her as a teenager shows a different and alternate side to her, what she could have been perhaps, and still anything but perfect.
Yes I did get the plot dénouement before the reveal but this didn't stop me being swept up in the story until its conclusion. If you like dark, gripping, psychological thrillers then this is a book for you.
Alison has put her past behind her. She is no longer the young girl who lived in The Crooked House by the sea. She has a different name, a different history. She has no family as they were taken from her in that house a long time ago. She had vowed never to return but a wedding back in the village of her youth means revisiting the past and allowing long suppressed memories to resurface. As they do Alison begins to suspect that the events surrounding her family's deaths was not as it first appears.
This is the first Christobel Kent novel I have read and it certainly won't be the last. This is an engrossing, dark and almost hypnotic read. From the first page I was drawn in to the tragic world of Alison, eager to find out what happened to her and her family. There is an overriding sense of foreboding and darkness filling every page and this is maintained throughout the story. I could easily imagine the bleak, grey village where secrets lurk under the surface. As the reader, you are aware that not everything is as it seems but are one step behind. making the danger to Alison seem all the more palpable.
The characters are all well drawn, all flawed with secrets of their own to hide. None are particularly likeable with a few certain exceptions. Alison herself is realistically portrayed as a flawed and damaged character, distrustful of all, secretive and lonely. The portrayal of her as a teenager shows a different and alternate side to her, what she could have been perhaps, and still anything but perfect.
Yes I did get the plot dénouement before the reveal but this didn't stop me being swept up in the story until its conclusion. If you like dark, gripping, psychological thrillers then this is a book for you.
June 25, 2016
The Crooked House ~ Cristobel Kent
First I would like to thank the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for giving me this book in return for a fair and honest review. Second I would like to thank The Life of a Book Addict book club for giving the opportunity to participate in this giveaway.
This book starts out as a heart thumper drawing the reader into the fray as Kent describes the night when Esme Grace narrowly escapes with her life as she runs and hides in the marsh just beyond the crooked house that was her home. In that crooked house she has left behind the remains of her family - her mother, brother, younger twin sisters - and the only other survivor, her father and suspected killer.
For most of the novel, Esme lives as Alison shedding off her old self and the horror the memories of that night bring. Against her better senses she is brought back to that sleepy New England town where secrets lie beneath the muck and mire of the water and the townspeople keep all their cards close to their vests. She finds that she is once more in danger and questions whether it is because of she represents the dark past that they would rather forget, or because the killer is still among them.
I liked the pacing of the novel and felt that Kent’s detailed description of the seaside town lent itself to the mystery of the novel. Why then only 3 ½ stars? I feel like the true test of any mystery is to keep me guessing until the final reveal and with The Crooked House I was able to solve the mystery long before the story took its final lap.
First I would like to thank the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for giving me this book in return for a fair and honest review. Second I would like to thank The Life of a Book Addict book club for giving the opportunity to participate in this giveaway.
This book starts out as a heart thumper drawing the reader into the fray as Kent describes the night when Esme Grace narrowly escapes with her life as she runs and hides in the marsh just beyond the crooked house that was her home. In that crooked house she has left behind the remains of her family - her mother, brother, younger twin sisters - and the only other survivor, her father and suspected killer.
For most of the novel, Esme lives as Alison shedding off her old self and the horror the memories of that night bring. Against her better senses she is brought back to that sleepy New England town where secrets lie beneath the muck and mire of the water and the townspeople keep all their cards close to their vests. She finds that she is once more in danger and questions whether it is because of she represents the dark past that they would rather forget, or because the killer is still among them.
I liked the pacing of the novel and felt that Kent’s detailed description of the seaside town lent itself to the mystery of the novel. Why then only 3 ½ stars? I feel like the true test of any mystery is to keep me guessing until the final reveal and with The Crooked House I was able to solve the mystery long before the story took its final lap.
December 25, 2014
Esme suffered through a traumatic childhood.
Now calling herself Alison, she's thrilled when she meets Paul. He’s a University professor, fifteen years her senior and has essentially taken Alison under his wing – accepting her and her idiosyncrasies and not asking any questions. But when he asks her to attend a wedding with him she’s conflicted. She wants to be recognised as his partner, but the bride is a former girlfriend of Paul’s and… it’s in Esme/Alison’s former hometown.
On their arrival in Saltleigh Alison realises she’ll have no choice but to confront her demons. Not only are her own memories of her time there vivid, but it seems the relatively-closed community remembers Esme and her tragic past as well.
I enjoyed this novel by Kent – the first of her books I’ve read. We quickly learn about Alison / Esme’s history and I appreciated that significant amounts of time weren’t spent with her in denial – which is a common theme in similar novels. Her eagerness to revisit the events of her childhood (in a manner of speaking) was refreshing.
Read the full review in my blog: http://www.debbish.com/books-literatu...
Now calling herself Alison, she's thrilled when she meets Paul. He’s a University professor, fifteen years her senior and has essentially taken Alison under his wing – accepting her and her idiosyncrasies and not asking any questions. But when he asks her to attend a wedding with him she’s conflicted. She wants to be recognised as his partner, but the bride is a former girlfriend of Paul’s and… it’s in Esme/Alison’s former hometown.
On their arrival in Saltleigh Alison realises she’ll have no choice but to confront her demons. Not only are her own memories of her time there vivid, but it seems the relatively-closed community remembers Esme and her tragic past as well.
I enjoyed this novel by Kent – the first of her books I’ve read. We quickly learn about Alison / Esme’s history and I appreciated that significant amounts of time weren’t spent with her in denial – which is a common theme in similar novels. Her eagerness to revisit the events of her childhood (in a manner of speaking) was refreshing.
Read the full review in my blog: http://www.debbish.com/books-literatu...
January 8, 2015
One of the most shocking openings to a crime novel I can remember.
"Alison is as close to anonymous as she can get...But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme Grace, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote and dilapidated house on the edge of a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else's - or so she thought.
Then one night a terrible thing happened in the crooked house, a nightmare of violence out of which Alison emerged the only witness and sole survivor and from which she has been running ever since."
This book has a wonderfully constructed plot and a cast of characters that bring the story to life and hooked me in from the start.
The setting for most of the action is described so well I felt as if I was there watching the story develop.
The only thing I struggled with was that flashbacks/memories merged with current events, to-ing and fro-ing so fast it made my head spin.
Apart from that, an absorbing read that I would highly recommend. Thank you to the publisher, via Netgalley, for the advance copy e-book to review.
"Alison is as close to anonymous as she can get...But once Alison was someone else: once she was Esme Grace, a teenager whose bedroom sat at the top of a remote and dilapidated house on the edge of a bleak estuary. A girl whose family, if not happy, exactly, was no unhappier than anyone else's - or so she thought.
Then one night a terrible thing happened in the crooked house, a nightmare of violence out of which Alison emerged the only witness and sole survivor and from which she has been running ever since."
This book has a wonderfully constructed plot and a cast of characters that bring the story to life and hooked me in from the start.
The setting for most of the action is described so well I felt as if I was there watching the story develop.
The only thing I struggled with was that flashbacks/memories merged with current events, to-ing and fro-ing so fast it made my head spin.
Apart from that, an absorbing read that I would highly recommend. Thank you to the publisher, via Netgalley, for the advance copy e-book to review.
January 15, 2020
The Crooked House. I really wasn't sure about this book when I started, even half way through I was thinking hmm do I like it or not?! the answer, I loved every page, from the first sentence to the last. this book draws you in, every page oozing with clues that you just can't piece together, holding the answers until the very end. The one issue I had was that I felf no connection between the married couple and between Alison/Esme and Paul, no intimacy or passion, which left me thinking well why are they even together! but again at the end that along with every other question was answered. This book is full of darkness and suppression, it had me gripped all the way through I absolutely loved it, I would reccomend this to anyone, read and enjoy.
April 17, 2015
full review to come soon but was addicted to this book needed to know what happened so much I got up an extra he early at 5.00 to finish it before work
August 5, 2015
Absolutely loved this amazing thriller. Atmospheric, chilling and tense, I was completely absorbed by this brilliant tale. Loved.
July 18, 2019
Boring and dull, I didn’t enjoy this book.
September 8, 2017
Too vague and directionless for me, but has a nice eerie atmosphere.
March 21, 2019
Audiobook, reader so so. She had an annoying habit of drifting into a whisper at the end of sentences making hearing the dialogue difficult unless volume was up then other dialogue was too loud.
A bit much with unclear jumping around of place and time, made the story a bit hard to follow. Ho hum, I figured out who the killer was before the end, trudged through to confirm. I found I really did not care much about any of the characters, their self absorbed lives and inabilities to deal with them.
A bit much with unclear jumping around of place and time, made the story a bit hard to follow. Ho hum, I figured out who the killer was before the end, trudged through to confirm. I found I really did not care much about any of the characters, their self absorbed lives and inabilities to deal with them.
March 8, 2023
I was wanting and excited to read this book. I was very confused through out this long and dreadful story! I would be lost, I’d go back start over and over trying to understand! Probably the longest story every told! Ugh!
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