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Skizzer: A Novel
Claire Trowling is on a quest. After receiving news of her sister Becca's abrupt disappearance, Claire must piece together the shadowy remnants of a past she's long forgotten in order to find her. A cryptic note scrawled in Becca's handwriting leaves more questions than it "Something both terrible and wonderful has happened. I can't explain now..." When a stack of mysterious letters bound by a rare necklace is found, Claire heads to England--the source of the heirloom--for answers. With the help of a rectory gardener she remembers from her childhood, Claire races to discover the secrets that hold her family captive. Suspenseful and full of intrigue, Skizzer takes readers on a transcontinental hunt for answers weaving seamlessly between the distant past of childhood and the urgency of the present.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 29, 2017
This is a gentle mystery about a sister's disappearance. When Claire seeks to find Becca she discovers skeletons in the family closet. Her search leads her to England where the present ties together with the past. I enjoyed this story although it wasn't compelling. I wasn't surprised at the turn of events. This is one of those books to enjoy by a cozy fire on a rainy night.
March 4, 2008
Woman's sister disappears and she goes to find her and finds out about family's past. Strange story.
February 5, 2019
It was an interesting concept but lacked believability.
June 14, 2020
Okay. Not a page turner.
May 27, 2008
More like 3.5 stars...
About the book:
When her sister Becca disappears, Claire returns to an abandoned estate where they played as children. There she finds a curious note: "Something terrible and wonderful has happened." A desperate chase begins, taking Claire from a haunted North Carolina inn to a rectory in Yorkshire, England. Can she solve the mystery---and save Becca?
My review:
Skizzer is an interesting book, yet I'm not sure how I feel about it. The fact that I actually finished the story shows it's compelling enough for me to keep on reading, but I didn't perceive much of a spiritual journey for the main character until the very end, and even that was minor. There was not much of an emotional pull for me in this book, either. I guess I kept waiting for that to happen and then the story ended. I did find the sister dynamics interesting as well as the notion that sometimes history repeats itself with sudden disappearances of loved ones. The sense of distress I caught from Rainey was well-done in that I understood his bewilderment, but I was hoping for more of an emotional investment on my end.
So while this story didn't choke me up or keep me on the edge of my seat, it was a nice, cozy read sort of like Robin Gunn's Finding Father Christmas. I enjoyed that story, too, but it had a similar pacing, plot and theme that brought me along but never took my breath away. Maybe it's the English mystery thing that doesn't yank my chain. But I did enjoy some of the backstory in the book, especially the part where Aunt Jess tells about the family history. That said, I did enjoy this book, but something was missing...I'm just not sure what that something was.
Skizzer was published by Revell and released in January 2008.
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About the book:
When her sister Becca disappears, Claire returns to an abandoned estate where they played as children. There she finds a curious note: "Something terrible and wonderful has happened." A desperate chase begins, taking Claire from a haunted North Carolina inn to a rectory in Yorkshire, England. Can she solve the mystery---and save Becca?
My review:
Skizzer is an interesting book, yet I'm not sure how I feel about it. The fact that I actually finished the story shows it's compelling enough for me to keep on reading, but I didn't perceive much of a spiritual journey for the main character until the very end, and even that was minor. There was not much of an emotional pull for me in this book, either. I guess I kept waiting for that to happen and then the story ended. I did find the sister dynamics interesting as well as the notion that sometimes history repeats itself with sudden disappearances of loved ones. The sense of distress I caught from Rainey was well-done in that I understood his bewilderment, but I was hoping for more of an emotional investment on my end.
So while this story didn't choke me up or keep me on the edge of my seat, it was a nice, cozy read sort of like Robin Gunn's Finding Father Christmas. I enjoyed that story, too, but it had a similar pacing, plot and theme that brought me along but never took my breath away. Maybe it's the English mystery thing that doesn't yank my chain. But I did enjoy some of the backstory in the book, especially the part where Aunt Jess tells about the family history. That said, I did enjoy this book, but something was missing...I'm just not sure what that something was.
Skizzer was published by Revell and released in January 2008.
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April 30, 2014
Despite how long I took to finish this book, I truly enjoyed it. I liked how all of the characters were linked and related in some way, either by blood or some other source. This leads me to say that connection happens to be one of the core themes in Skizzer.
Even though at times I felt that something was missing in the characters, I felt the urge to be right there along with them, helping to answer the many questions and be a part of the events.
To Claire, the main character in the story: I, too, felt a sense of being at home while following you on your journey to not only find your sister but to find yourself.
Even though at times I felt that something was missing in the characters, I felt the urge to be right there along with them, helping to answer the many questions and be a part of the events.
To Claire, the main character in the story: I, too, felt a sense of being at home while following you on your journey to not only find your sister but to find yourself.
August 7, 2008
When Claire's sister goes missing, Claire and her brother-in-law begin a journey to unravel family secrets and locate their loved one. I might classify this as a pastoral mystery, very nicely paced with lots of foreshadowing. There were certain parts of the story that did not resonate within me because of my own background and Protestant faith (rather than Anglican) but it was a story of overcoming the past, which everyone can relate to. :-)
August 3, 2008
This is a hard book to categorize. There is a mystery, though not in the traditional sense. And there is a spiritual aspect, though I don't know if this counts specifically as "Christian fiction." I found it better than MANY Christian fiction books I have read. It is the story of Claire's quest to learn more about her past. And there's a little romance too (very little), which is very nicely done. It was pretty good; I enjoyed it. Read it in about 4 hours.
March 13, 2014
A very suspensfull book but it wasn't one of my favorite books beacause I felt the overall story was kind of weird and a but creepy. lol. But a good suspense novel-it kept be wanting to read till the end. I also thought the tittle was very creative once I found out what it meant/etc. But the book overall didn't really have that much meaning to me. I didn't connect with the characters and that's a big part of a book to me.
March 25, 2009
I totally LOVED the first part of the book...Two sisters...A mysterious disappearance...Old letters...Flashbacks...Then the second part of the book was like a different person altogether wrote the ending. It was corny and predictable. What happened, A.J.?
February 9, 2009
I couldn't put this book down. You just want to keep on turning the pages to find out what happens next. :) If any more books come out from this author I will buy them. :)
December 16, 2010
i think thus is an good book it has you thinking what is gona happen during the story..... this is nothing but but a mystery story and i love mystery books
April 27, 2012
This was a very interesting book. It was full if mystery and ancient historical backgrounds.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews