Hier gebeurt nooit wat

by Julie Myerson

In een klein dorp aan de Engelse kust wordt een zinloze en gewelddadige moord gepleegd. Nooit eerder heeft zich zoiets voorgedaan. Lennie was ook niet het type dat zoiets overkwam. Ze was de perfecte moeder en de perfecte vrouw. Niet de vrouw die je zwaar verminkt terugvindt op een parkeerplaats. Tess, vriendin van Lennie, raakt door de schok in een isolement van angst en twijfel. De dreiging dat het onverwachte elk moment kan gebeuren, heeft haar dwingend in zijn greep. Zij keert zich langzaam af van haar gezin dat uit elkaar valt. Niets lijkt meer zoals het was. Haar huwelijk, haar vriendschap met Lennie, het rustige dorpsleven. Alleen de kliffen, de duinen en de mist die langzaam opkruipt vanuit zee blijven. In een prachtige sobere en tegelijk poëtische stijl weet Myerson de onpersoonlijke dreiging van het noodlot, de elementen en de natuur tastbaar te maken. 'Hier gebeurt nooit wat' is meer dan een psychologische thriller: Julie Myersons schrijftalent tilt het genre op naar een ongekend niveau.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary, British Literature

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Julie Myerson is the author of nine novels, including the internationally bestselling Something Might Happen, and three works of nonfiction. As a critic and columnist, she has written for many newspapers including The Guardian, Financial Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and the New York Times.

Reviews

[Jon Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read some of the reviews here I was wondering if I'd read the same book. I found this book particularly engaging because I have a great affection for Southwold, the Suffolk town where the story is set. Myerson brings the town so much to life with her prose that it is perhaps not surprising that I found her book wonderfully evocative of very happy times spent there.

Some reviewers have criticised her for not using speech marks when writing dialogue. As you read the book however, you realise you are inside the head of Tess, the best friend of Lennie, the murder victim written about at the beginning of the novel. Being inside the head of this character means you see those conversations from her viewpoint - they are not meant to be direct transcripts. Therefore the writing works particularly well and helps us understand the world from her perspective, which is really what the whole book is about. Yes, she is somewhat detached but she has just experienced as huge a trauma as anybody is likely to and is going through a period in her life as so many do, when they question everything in their existence.

The denouement is one of the saddest, most emotionally gut-wrenching I have read in a contemporary novel and again makes me wonder why some have suggested that the ending is unsatisfactory. It is a book that takes the mundane and everyday and turns it into something sharp, sensual and apposite to our lives. Myerson should be applauded for not entering into a whodunnit and for not sensationalising the plot. The point here is that in many ways we live our lives in our heads, and sometimes get lost in those thoughts and emotions. This is a book that allows the reader real insight into those thoughts and hits you right in the solar plexus when key events truly change the protagonists' lives.

A fantastic read and one I would heartily recommend.

[Claire Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Myerson's writing - reading it is almost as if I'm not reading, as if the words are washing over me. I read this in a couple of days on holiday and it deals with some difficult subjects for holiday reading, but completely gripped me. When I realised that we probably wouldn't ever find out who killed Lennie, for a moment I was disappointed, but this book is in no way a who-done-it, and then towards the end of the novel when the child disappears, I really liked how the story turned. Myerson has a way of catching and describing the tiny details of ordinary life - the way a baby wakes with a jerk and grabs at the air and then falls back to sleep - that I absolutely love.

[Paula Coston · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a non-mother, this is one of the most powerful books about a mother in distress that I've read. The storyline is gripping and unusual: a kind of thriller, but in the end, a thriller about the emotions a mother goes through when something terrible happens to people (and children) you love. A real page-turner, and so sensitively done. The sense of place is also fab: a backwater English seaside town.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

A surprisingly gruesome read in places but lacking as a complete work. The sheer number of times the author refers to how people smell will undoubtedly grate as will the total lack of indication of who is speaking. Tracking backwards in conversations to work out who is saying what isn't an adventurous presentational style, it's just kinda irritating.

[cydell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meyerson’s life is a pretty narrow trajectory. Do a journalism degree, shamelessly exploit your children in your professional writing, buy a second home in Southwold and oh wow, set a novel there - an utterly forgettable, poorly structured novel about a murder. Except that it isn’t really about the murder, but about an unsympathetic narrator living in the afternath of the unsolved murder. Unsure if it’s a murder mystery, study of grief, or chick lit, it is too poorly written to be any of the above. Avoid.

[Farrah · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. The ending did not pay off in the SLIGHTEST, all of the characters were unlikeable and unrelatable, underdeveloped and lacking clear motivation for their behavior, esp the main narrator. Also the lack of any quotation marks anywhere in the book really made reading dialogue a major chore. Not sure why someone would make that decision.

[Tracy King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book I’ve read this year

[Loopyloo100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows Tess and her family after the murder of her friend Lennie in a seaside town in the south east of Englnd. I found it to be a book that really draws you in and definitely made me feel that Tess was experiencing grief in a way that made sense to me. I found it difficult to put down. Even though it has the elements of a thriller it's certainly not of that genre and is much more about people and life and how it affects us when awful events happen that we are not prepared for. I found it quite emotional at the end, but also quite positive. I would definitely recommend it to those that enjoy really entering into other peoples lives and feeling those experiences.

[Coral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story revolves around the murder of a woman in a small town, it is not a mystery or thriller. It's more about how death transforms the lives of those who loved the deceased, and how little things people do - or don't do - can change a relationship. It's a very quick read, and I found that I had a hard time putting it down once I started.

[Gregisdead121 · Rating 2 out of 5]

As vague as the title suggests the 'thing' that happens right at the start of this novel will be in the background of the lives left behind, a restless mystery fracturing a small town with a murderous awakening of its darker truths. A tale as old as time, basis of some of fictions best premises yet Julie Myerson centers the domesticity that endures in the wake of even the most unspeakable tragedies, the ''so it goes'' Vonnegut punctuated deaths and ironies with is explored less briefly here. The children must still go to school, parents work and community attempt to understand its new normal. Through the detail the reader can tell how much motherhood means to Julie Myerson , framing this violent brush of mortality through her own deep maternal fears, one cannot help but view the uncertainty of the title in the wake of the inciting actions immovability as contending with the what if's of parentage. Each morning met with a sunrise could be the last one, why ? because something might happen to change it: a heart attack, house fire, drowning ...

Her writing reminded me of a less funny Liane Moriarty novel, specifically 'big little lies'. Myerson's journalist training has given her a restrained grasps of prose, full enough to erect her world right in front of your eyes but withdrawn to the same extent real life interactions are- we never know what her characters know only how they react; putting the reader through the same uncertainty & shock as more and more is discovered . There is a moment part way in the book where Alex (the murder victims husband) kisses the protagonist Tess(the victims best friend) and cracks open the taut tension that lay between Tess and Mick since the first page. Up until that point I couldn't wrap my head around Mick's harshness and Tess's diffident submission to his wrath but after that the undercurrent is revealed to be a waterfall and what happened to Lennie gets a more insidious hue. Ultimately, 'Something Might Happen' is punctilious autopsy of a marriage, its secrets and performances, motifs and paradigms outlining in removed detail the accuracy of Anna Karenina's opening line. Secrets aren't sensationalizing , they come up for air and depending on what the couple is willing to risk , either return to their depths or stay close to the surface like a sharks fin from a distance . I loved how she wrote sex, very dry - no one seems to be enjoying it, it solely fills up space and renews a contract, confirming my worst fears about such commitments .

The reading experience was quite uneven. Beginning with a propulsive first half undercut by a meandering middle, which despite its rancorous ruminations on the limits of marriage has the sharpness of a dull butter knife . The pace coupled by the sudden death of Rosa near the end really tested me. I hover between a thee star or a 2 star, will have to see once it has sat with me.

[Kathleen Skog · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the first couple of pages of this novel a young mother is brutally murdered. The surprise is that it is not a whodunnit murder mystery. Of course I want to know who and why she was killed, but the novel takes a different direction- we are inside the head if her best friend, Tess, someone who obviously did not commit the murder.

As anyone who has gone through a traumatic situation can tell you, friends and family are severely affected in unpredictable ways. The story is very sad without being sensational. I wouldn’t have expected a book which is basically about emotions to be so readable.

There were parts of the book that were tiresome, especially the repeated references to how people smelled and what their breath smelled like. The characters were not especially likable either.

Also at the end of the book Something Else Happens and although it is massively important, the author seems to brush over Tess’s thoughts at this point

[grevelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

sobbing

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a book is written without any speech marks - or indeed, any indication such as italics or line breaks or anything at all - it's sometimes confusing as to what it speech and what is thought especially when, as in Something Might Happen, the lead character is keeping secrets from her family. This was probably my biggest problem with this novel (and I see from other reviews here that I'm not alone!)

I didn't actively dislike this book but I thought I would like it more than I did. Opening with the aftermath of a grisly murder is less awkward/creepy here than you might think, but it doesn't have the effect of endearing you to those left failing around in the wake of the tragedy like I think it was supposed to. I'm not sure I actually liked any of the characters in this book at all - apart from the children, I suppose.

From the title, I had the idea that, err, something might happen - that is, something that isn't the opening murder. So when it does come - right at the end - I was less than shocked, especially as I feel the whole novel gradually sets you up for it. But I wasn't moved by it, nor by the characters reactions. This novel is supposed to touch the reader and it did not touch me, not at all.

[Andrea Howarth-Salazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is one that has stuck in my imagination long after I have read it. The plot is chilling and disturbing, beginning with the murder of an innocent woman - a wife, mother and member of the local community. The reader is made to contemplate the possibility of something terrible happening to them or someone they know, just as it happened to the ordinary woman in this story. The prose is concise but full of symbolism and small nuances of meaning and mood.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now that I've finished this, I can't quite believe I read it all in one day. The narrator bugged me, I didn't feel any sympathy for her, just irritation that she behaved so stupidly. Myerson can write, IE: it's well written, but her characters just...bugged. It's as if this novel couldn't decide if it was a mystery or a plain romance novel/summer read.

[Bachyboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were times when I felt like I was holding my breath when I was reading this and I had to force myself not to let my eyes flick ahead. Tess's friend Lennie is brutally murdered and this is the story of the next few weeks. It is skilfully written and unbearably tense.

[Hazel McHaffie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not a murder mystery although all the elements of one are there. Rather it's intended (I think) as a story about what grief does to people. I must confess I struggled to find credibility in the main protagonist's behaviour and the whole storyline left me rather unmoved because of it.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something Might Happen is not for the faint of heart, no pun intended. This book swept me away. As a woman, a friend and a mother, it made me contemplate situations no one wants to deal with.

[Michele Attias · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story revolves around a murder that took place on a cold winter night in October in Suffolk. Although the premise of the story isn’t to find the murderer particularly, it is more about highlighting how the community, and more especially Tess, Mick and their family deal with the loss of their best friend Lennie.
The simplicity, in the storytelling was exactly what I needed while on holiday, however there were a few puzzling aspects.
Firstly, I didn’t feel moved or emotional at any part of it, even though it explored how grief can impact both the adults and children. A subject that could normally make me feel quite emotional. I just felt cold throughout the whole book and completely detached - perhaps how the author and narrator came across in the writing of it.
The main protagonist, Tess, came across as self-centred and I found it baffling how in the midst of suddenly losing her best friend Lennie (who was like an aunt to her children), to a horrific murder, Tess embarks on an affair with the family liaison officer (taking her baby with her when meeting up with him secretly) leading to tragic results. This affair came from nowhere, and didn’t add anything to the story.
The lack of speech marks also made it very difficult to know when a character was in the middle of a conversation. Overall, an engaging book which was well written and a good summer read.

[Mandy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! It was darker and more unexpected then the writing leads you to believe. You already know there has been a murder from the blurb on the back but the way Lennie was murdered was violent and gruesome and something awful happens at the end which I did not see coming! You get caught up in Tess’s relationships around her so you don’t expect the awful thing until it hits you in the face. I didn’t trust Tess and wondered if she was the one who killed Lennie,the story does not say that much about their friendship,I also suspected Alex but we don’t find out who did it. I was left still thinking about this story after I had read it.

[Susan Atkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel cheated because the mystery wasn’t solved and feel a bit meh!
The lack of speech marks was unusual and the things the main character did was questionable, like how she took her baby with her when having a secret rendezvous with her male friend.
I also thought the death of her daughter was unnecessary. Tbh I just wanted to find out who the murderer was and that never happened. 3 stars for a read that gripped me, was easy to read, good plot but cannot give it a higher rating for reasons explained. Not sure whether I would read more of this author.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy read . I felt like I was taken into the life of the main character however the ending left me disappointed. I was waiting throughout the book for a revelation or a ‘who done it ‘ answer . That aside I think really it was more about the effect after a murder rather than a mystery .Maybe I was missing the point in waiting to see who the killer was . The last chapter felt rushed and overly condensed . I still enjoyed this though and it was a averagely decent holiday read.

[Rita Galchus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something did happen

This is my first reading of the author Julie Myerson. And I will read more now that I have found her. Something Might Happen is so much more than a crime novel. This is true life with real families and tough feelings. I went into the start of this book expecting one thing and ended up somewhere else.
Exceptional writing, believable characters, and a great plot.

[Siobhan Markwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous writing with a real sense of place and fully realised human characters. The kids were as well-written as the adults. Felt it drifted a little towards the end and I wanted to anchor myself: is this a crime novel? a love story? an portrait of marriage and parenthood? but a really thoughtful novel.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book annoyed me intensely, the lack of quotation marks just makes it terribly confusing, and feels too much like hard work to try and decipher..
The sad thing about this book is it could have been brilliant, the synopsises is great but it gives no answers at all, just leaves more questions.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sad story which leaves the reader wondering about different aspects of the novel. It just doesn't feel finished, whilst it allows the reader the opportunity to decide for themselves. Would recommend

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled with this novel. Found the characters hard to keep up with as to who was who.
The style of writing was un relaxing to read. Especially without the speech quotation marks which made it difficult to work out who said what.
Sadly didn’t finish this one.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bello. Letto in due giorni, non riuscivo a staccarmici.

[Judi Mckay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t keen on the writing style and the ending wasn’t clean enough for me, however, it’s a solid story of how people cope and don’t cope after a tragedy.


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[Alex Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting structure and a different approach but I found some of the characters hard to connect with