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In My Father's Den
When Celia Inverarity, aged seventeen, is found brutally murdered in a secluded West Auckland park one Sunday afternoon, Paul Prior, her English teacher and mentor, is suspected of being her murderer. Celia's death and the violence which follows send Prior back to examine the past - which proves as secret as his father's den in the old poison shed. Eventually the murderer is exposed, but not before a family has been split apart and old wounds revealed. In My Father's Den is Maurice Gee's third novel and was first published in 1972. It is now an international feature film of the same name. In My Father's Den is directed by Brad McGann and Produced by Trevor Haysom and Dixie Linder, and stars Matthew Macfayden, Miranda Otto and Emily Barclay.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
13 people are currently reading
716 people want to read
About the author
Maurice Gee
45 books105 followersMaurice Gough Gee was a New Zealand novelist. He was one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors, having written over thirty novels for adults and children, and having won numerous awards both in New Zealand and overseas, including multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in the UK, the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, the Robert Burns Fellowship and a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. In 2003 he was recognised as one of New Zealand's greatest living artists across all disciplines by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, which presented him with an Icon Award.
Gee's novel Plumb (1978) was described by the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature to be one of the best novels ever written in New Zealand. He was also well-known for children's and young adult fiction such as Under the Mountain (1979). He won multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and in 2002 he was presented with the prestigious Margaret Mahy Award by the Children's Literature Foundation in recognition of his contributions to children's literature.
Gee's novel Plumb (1978) was described by the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature to be one of the best novels ever written in New Zealand. He was also well-known for children's and young adult fiction such as Under the Mountain (1979). He won multiple top prizes at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and in 2002 he was presented with the prestigious Margaret Mahy Award by the Children's Literature Foundation in recognition of his contributions to children's literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
October 16, 2017
Maurice Gee is one of these NZ authors that have been floating around my reading consciousness since I could read. I think many New Zealanders would first encounter him in school as he writes great childrens fiction. In fact I have a very old edition of The world around the corner that I am pretty sure I was given when I was 5 or 6. He is such a fundamental part of the New Zealand literary landscape. Somehow despite this my only experience of his adult fiction was Going West something I enjoyed but was out of my depth with at the time.
So it is with a kind reverential reacquaintance I come to In My Fathers Den and luxuriate in this master wordsmith as he revisits was a thinly veiled Henderson of the post-war years. I loved this novel for how well he captures the claustrophobic and parochial nature of New Zealand at this time. A time when olive oil was only available from the pharmacy and unmarried men with a love for reading books were looked at oddly.
Although there is a murder at the heart of this book I thought it was at it's best as a meditation on moral absolutism and nostalgia. Gee seems to be writing about his own childhood here, and when he does so his writing is so graceful and evocative.
My only slight reservation was with the ending which was rushed and weirdly executed, Gee is no master mystery writer. Also, a couple of exchanges between Paul and 16yr old Celia were jarring and seemed out of step with modern sensitivities.
However, this is still the best NZ novel I have read for a while and it is so refreshing to read of places one knows - Riverhead, Takapuna, Muriwai and The Great North road.
(I might need to go back and revisit the 2004 film version of this which I think may put the emphasis back on the mystery aspect.)
So it is with a kind reverential reacquaintance I come to In My Fathers Den and luxuriate in this master wordsmith as he revisits was a thinly veiled Henderson of the post-war years. I loved this novel for how well he captures the claustrophobic and parochial nature of New Zealand at this time. A time when olive oil was only available from the pharmacy and unmarried men with a love for reading books were looked at oddly.
Although there is a murder at the heart of this book I thought it was at it's best as a meditation on moral absolutism and nostalgia. Gee seems to be writing about his own childhood here, and when he does so his writing is so graceful and evocative.
My only slight reservation was with the ending which was rushed and weirdly executed, Gee is no master mystery writer. Also, a couple of exchanges between Paul and 16yr old Celia were jarring and seemed out of step with modern sensitivities.
However, this is still the best NZ novel I have read for a while and it is so refreshing to read of places one knows - Riverhead, Takapuna, Muriwai and The Great North road.
(I might need to go back and revisit the 2004 film version of this which I think may put the emphasis back on the mystery aspect.)
February 5, 2023
4.5* rounded down
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January 14, 2023In My Father’s Den by Maurice Gee
For me, the pleasure of a good mystery novel is when the mystery is secondary to the characters. Maurice Gee’s In My Father’s Den is driven by its characters, Gee enlivens both his minor and major characters: they all seem believable and sometimes all too real. Midway through, I correctly guessed at the ultimate resolution, but this felt irrelevant to my enjoyment and involvement for the remainder. In My Father’s Den may be brief, but it’s full of wonderful character portraits. Quick to read perhaps, but probably slow to forget.
For me, the pleasure of a good mystery novel is when the mystery is secondary to the characters. Maurice Gee’s In My Father’s Den is driven by its characters, Gee enlivens both his minor and major characters: they all seem believable and sometimes all too real. Midway through, I correctly guessed at the ultimate resolution, but this felt irrelevant to my enjoyment and involvement for the remainder. In My Father’s Den may be brief, but it’s full of wonderful character portraits. Quick to read perhaps, but probably slow to forget.
October 2, 2024
If you’ve only seen the 2004 Brad McGann film adaptation, you’re *probably* good 👍
August 21, 2021
I read this for my in person book group. I'd never come across the book or the author before the group picked it as one of its New Zealand reads. In the end it proved a difficult book to get hold off, with only me being able to source a reasonably priced second hand one, this resulted in us altering our choice s. Sch a shame. This is a gem of a book. Very well written, well crafted, full characters, good plot. It opens with a Prologue of newspapers coverage of the brutal murder of a 17yr old school girl Celia Inverarity.Then we are into a first person narrative by Paul Emerson, her English teacher and mentor who finds himself a suspect. Celia's death propels Paul back into an examination of his past, his childhood with his parents and two brothers, the death of one and the mother, the strain between his father and his mother's atitudes to life, faith, his father's escape to his shed, his den and his own life, how he became an English teacher. It is a shortish book of 174 pages through which the writing flows beautifully. I read it over two late night sittings, thoroughly engrossed in Paul's memories and the lovely storytelling style of its writer Maurice Gee. Highly recommended.
Maurice Gee is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors. He has written more than 30 novels for adults and children, has won numerous awards, including multiple New Zealand Book Awards.
In My Father's Den has been made into a movie starring Matthew MacFadyen
Maurice Gee is one of New Zealand's most distinguished and prolific authors. He has written more than 30 novels for adults and children, has won numerous awards, including multiple New Zealand Book Awards.
In My Father's Den has been made into a movie starring Matthew MacFadyen
April 4, 2022
I loved this book as I listened on audible and it was read by Humphrey Bower. I have come to the conclusion that he could read out the the Oxford dictionary and I would love it. It’s a story set in New Zealand where a 17 year old girl is found murdered and the last person to see her is her English teacher. I was surprised at the ending, but it all made sense.
August 22, 2013
I chose to read this book as my mother recommended it to me as a great read as well as Maurice Gee is a highly recommended New Zealand author so I was quite interested to read one of his novels. As "In my fathers den" is written by a New Zealand author it ticks off this category.
This novel is about a seventeen year old girl called Celia Inverarity who is brutally murdered while walking home. Paul Prior who narrates the story is Celia's teacher who was the last person to see her alive therefore he becomes a main suspect in the murder case. Paul goes back to his childhood a lot throughout the book and you learn many secrets of his past such as the unfortunate death of his brother.
My favourite character in the story was Celia. Celia was hard working, strong headed and did not like to conform to what the others were doing. In the time this book was set women were not expected to go to university but Celia was determined to go anyway to prove to people she could do it. One thing I did not like about Celia was how she was too curious which I believe is the reason why she got killed.
My least favourite character in the novel was Joyce Inverarity who was Celia's mother. In Joyce's younger years she dated Paul Prior. Joyce broke up with Paul at once when she discovered he had a retarded brother then ran off with Paul's best friend! I thought that this was disgusting that Joyce did not want to be with Paul just because someone in his family had disabilities. I believe Joyce was to wrapped up in her own world to notice other people therefore making her a very self centred person.
My favourite settings from the book is when Paul is a child. Maurice Gee describes the novels scenery vividly and it almost feels as though you are in the book. I liked hearing about the creek that Paul and his friends used to canoe in or the orchard where they played hide and seek. It sounded like a very fun childhood.
I thought this book was really good. As it was written by a New Zealand author he referenced places in New Zealand that I had heard of and even mentioned MAGS a couple times in it. I found I could relate to characters in this story and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a good read.
This novel is about a seventeen year old girl called Celia Inverarity who is brutally murdered while walking home. Paul Prior who narrates the story is Celia's teacher who was the last person to see her alive therefore he becomes a main suspect in the murder case. Paul goes back to his childhood a lot throughout the book and you learn many secrets of his past such as the unfortunate death of his brother.
My favourite character in the story was Celia. Celia was hard working, strong headed and did not like to conform to what the others were doing. In the time this book was set women were not expected to go to university but Celia was determined to go anyway to prove to people she could do it. One thing I did not like about Celia was how she was too curious which I believe is the reason why she got killed.
My least favourite character in the novel was Joyce Inverarity who was Celia's mother. In Joyce's younger years she dated Paul Prior. Joyce broke up with Paul at once when she discovered he had a retarded brother then ran off with Paul's best friend! I thought that this was disgusting that Joyce did not want to be with Paul just because someone in his family had disabilities. I believe Joyce was to wrapped up in her own world to notice other people therefore making her a very self centred person.
My favourite settings from the book is when Paul is a child. Maurice Gee describes the novels scenery vividly and it almost feels as though you are in the book. I liked hearing about the creek that Paul and his friends used to canoe in or the orchard where they played hide and seek. It sounded like a very fun childhood.
I thought this book was really good. As it was written by a New Zealand author he referenced places in New Zealand that I had heard of and even mentioned MAGS a couple times in it. I found I could relate to characters in this story and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a good read.
September 9, 2014
I don’t usually borrow library books tagged with the ‘mystery’ icon on the spine but I picked this one up for the daily commute because it was by distinguished New Zealand author Maurice Gee, and the blurb persuaded me that it was going to be more than the usual for this genre. It turned out to be most interesting.
Seventeen-year-old Celia Inverarity is found brutally murdered in Cascade Park Auckland, and it’s hardly surprising that the teacher who’s been tutoring her privately at his place becomes a suspect. The novel is carefully constructed so that while the evidence is only circumstantial, his own retelling of events looks very suspicious indeed.
The novel was written in 1972 in a more innocent era. but these days Paul Prior would be hauled up before Conduct and Ethics before he could get to the end of the Walt Whitman poems he shares with Celia.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/10/23/my...
Seventeen-year-old Celia Inverarity is found brutally murdered in Cascade Park Auckland, and it’s hardly surprising that the teacher who’s been tutoring her privately at his place becomes a suspect. The novel is carefully constructed so that while the evidence is only circumstantial, his own retelling of events looks very suspicious indeed.
The novel was written in 1972 in a more innocent era. but these days Paul Prior would be hauled up before Conduct and Ethics before he could get to the end of the Walt Whitman poems he shares with Celia.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/10/23/my...
September 7, 2023
Um, I can see why this would have been considered good when it was written in the 70s but I'm not sure it really stands up in a modern context.
I was surprised how little we got of Celia, given it's a book supposedly about her murder. Instead, we got the life story of a fairly boring, self-absorbed jerk who treats women terribly but convinces himself that he's a good guy. So many lines made me cringe or made me furious. To some degree it was clear the main character was supposed to be unlikable but I still felt some beliefs were probably the authors, given the time this was written so it left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
Then, after being quite literary for most of the book, it tries to turn into a thriller right at the end. Weird.
Probably well-written but not an enjoyable read regardless.
I was surprised how little we got of Celia, given it's a book supposedly about her murder. Instead, we got the life story of a fairly boring, self-absorbed jerk who treats women terribly but convinces himself that he's a good guy. So many lines made me cringe or made me furious. To some degree it was clear the main character was supposed to be unlikable but I still felt some beliefs were probably the authors, given the time this was written so it left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
Then, after being quite literary for most of the book, it tries to turn into a thriller right at the end. Weird.
Probably well-written but not an enjoyable read regardless.
February 19, 2017
This book was okay. I just wasn't convinced by the story and the ending wasn't satisfying. There's also a lot of back and forth between the main character's present timeline and his childhood which is something I'm generally never a fan of. It was good in terms of writing and characterisation and setting and all that (especially cool to get a glimpse of West Auckland from the 30s to the 70s) but it just didn't captivate me personally.
November 10, 2025
In the 1960s in a town of Wadeville, on the then outskirts of Auckland, promising local student Celia Inverarity is discovered murdered and hastily dumped in the weeds of a local park. Suspicion naturally falls upon the last person she was known to visit, her English teacher at Wadesville College, Paul Prior, who served as her mentor and seemed to derive a certain satisfaction from seeing in her some of the promise that he had failed to achieve in his own empty life. Prior was raised in a family characterised by a powerful atmosphere of religious repression, owing to the stern Presbyterianism of his mother and the stale morality of small town closed-mindedness that otherwise surrounded him. But Paul himself had been encultured into the world of rationalism and art by his timid father in the private den that he kept stocked with books — something that he seemed to hope he could reenact with the one prodigy that had emerged out of his otherwise unsatisfactory school-teaching career.
The shock of Celia’s death, along with the cloud of suspicion that overcomes him, causes him to revisit his own childhood and the way his past interacted with the others in the small town around him. In particular, he visits his own literary awakening and his first youthful romantic affair with Celia’s mother and then his own bitter retreat into ironic detachment and isolation at its failure. Celia occupies a complex position in his life, as the daughter he never had, and the nostalgic shadow of desire he once held for her mother, and also, crucially, as the still hopeful image of the sort of person he once wanted to be but lacked the courage to pursue. Her father too, is a childhood friend and occasional one-time rival of his, who grew up together in the pastural world of West Auckland before it became factories and polluted streams. And then his brother, Andrew, a stern moralist and sour-minded Christian in the mould of their mother, who judges Paul from afar while also having a fascination with all the affordances that his brother’s sense of freedom has allowed him to enjoy. Unpicking his past allows him, and by proxy his readers, into the simmering small-town tensions that have brought meaningless death to an innocent young woman.
Though Maurice Gee had published two novels prior to this, he would later be dismissive of their place in his overall body of work and I’ve never seen or read a copy of either. It was instead his third novel, In My Father’s Den, that earned Gee wider critical acclaim and, crucially, a publishing contract with a prestigious publishing house that would bring him wider readership. It’s easy to see why. Gee has always been a writer who can comfortably blend the literary and the popular mass market and In My Father’s Den is an excellent example of this particular mode that he works in. It has the plotboiler elements of a confessional noir, but also a certain elevation in its diction and thought. For a while, I was most put in mind of Sebastian Faulks’s Engleby, another novel that features an unreliable, first-person narrator who describes all around the ostensible subject itself and leaves you with the growing realisation that something is direly wrong with the narrator without needing to give anything away. Of course, the wrongness in Paul Prior isn’t necessarily that he’s guilty, but more than that he's a pathetic hollow figure unable to escape the shackles of his past. He moves in his narration from a potentially dangerous figure to one you hope won’t do something embarrassing.
Compared to some of his contemporaries, Gee’s writing comes across as somewhat unadorned and his narrative is straightforward. This, along with his prodigious output and the body of popular books he wrote for adolescents and children has meant that he doesn’t always get the recognition for his full literary achievement. No matter what sort of books you tend to read, I think you’d find few things indeed to fault in this novel. I really enjoyed it.
The shock of Celia’s death, along with the cloud of suspicion that overcomes him, causes him to revisit his own childhood and the way his past interacted with the others in the small town around him. In particular, he visits his own literary awakening and his first youthful romantic affair with Celia’s mother and then his own bitter retreat into ironic detachment and isolation at its failure. Celia occupies a complex position in his life, as the daughter he never had, and the nostalgic shadow of desire he once held for her mother, and also, crucially, as the still hopeful image of the sort of person he once wanted to be but lacked the courage to pursue. Her father too, is a childhood friend and occasional one-time rival of his, who grew up together in the pastural world of West Auckland before it became factories and polluted streams. And then his brother, Andrew, a stern moralist and sour-minded Christian in the mould of their mother, who judges Paul from afar while also having a fascination with all the affordances that his brother’s sense of freedom has allowed him to enjoy. Unpicking his past allows him, and by proxy his readers, into the simmering small-town tensions that have brought meaningless death to an innocent young woman.
Though Maurice Gee had published two novels prior to this, he would later be dismissive of their place in his overall body of work and I’ve never seen or read a copy of either. It was instead his third novel, In My Father’s Den, that earned Gee wider critical acclaim and, crucially, a publishing contract with a prestigious publishing house that would bring him wider readership. It’s easy to see why. Gee has always been a writer who can comfortably blend the literary and the popular mass market and In My Father’s Den is an excellent example of this particular mode that he works in. It has the plotboiler elements of a confessional noir, but also a certain elevation in its diction and thought. For a while, I was most put in mind of Sebastian Faulks’s Engleby, another novel that features an unreliable, first-person narrator who describes all around the ostensible subject itself and leaves you with the growing realisation that something is direly wrong with the narrator without needing to give anything away. Of course, the wrongness in Paul Prior isn’t necessarily that he’s guilty, but more than that he's a pathetic hollow figure unable to escape the shackles of his past. He moves in his narration from a potentially dangerous figure to one you hope won’t do something embarrassing.
Compared to some of his contemporaries, Gee’s writing comes across as somewhat unadorned and his narrative is straightforward. This, along with his prodigious output and the body of popular books he wrote for adolescents and children has meant that he doesn’t always get the recognition for his full literary achievement. No matter what sort of books you tend to read, I think you’d find few things indeed to fault in this novel. I really enjoyed it.
June 14, 2022
I've read a few of Maurice Gee's children's books so when I saw this novel at a little free library, I was curious. Unfortunately, it turned out to be what I call a "bad vibes book". The protagonist was vile and the story was steeped in dated prejudices from the 1970s. Certain scenes did grab me, but ultimately it's the worst book I've read so far this year.
February 6, 2020
I loved this start to finish. The story is so cleverly woven and so Kiwi, yet not. Smart plot and smart, witty writing. I’ll be looking for more Maurice Gee writings.
November 14, 2025
I wanted to read a Maurice gee after he died earlier this year, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read this yet! What a fabulous author, in this book, he muses on aspects of rural nz and “modern” nz that are still relevant now.
Aspects of this novel haven’t aged well but I really enjoyed it overall.
Aspects of this novel haven’t aged well but I really enjoyed it overall.
March 9, 2015
In My Father's Den is one of the best books I've read this year. To be honest, I started it warily. The opening with the newspaper articles was so poorly written, unrealistic, and didn't really grab my attention. Luckily, things only went up from there. The storytelling was easy to follow even as it switched between the past and present day. Thanks to the parts dedicated to the main character's childhood, I felt like I understood his family's motives. I liked the way Maurice Gee dealt with Paul Prior, there was definitely something unsettling about him, and that started to surface more and more as the story progressed. The mystery and suspense was done well, the red herrings were effective and convincing. The ending was satisfyingly dramatic, and did justice to the rest of the story. A great read, and I'm looking forward to watching the movie adaption in the near future.
February 10, 2013
Maurice Gee - how I love your writing. Everything about this story is pure Gee - beautifully written with carefully chosen, effective, intelligent language - every word has to be read. The characters are flawed but likeable and the West of Auckland is evoked perfectly. Allusions galore and references to schools of thinking. I couldn't put the book down, but then with about 15% to be read I couldn't bring myself to read it because I didn't want it to end. Now to see the movie version, she says with very real trepidation.
December 8, 2025
It’s absolutely tremendous — a delicate, vividly descriptive narrative that wraps you in its atmosphere. I could feel the air, the places, every subtle moment unfolding around me. I loved every second of it. I’m especially glad I read it while I was in New Zealand — it made the experience even more magical.
June 9, 2012
This is my first novel by an author from New Zealand. When I was there several years ago, I asked a shopkeeper which book to read by a New Zealand writer. She recommended some books, and I bought this one. The plot was intriguing.
January 30, 2016
I really liked this book. Raw, honest and direct. Shall be seeking out some more books by Gee.
June 24, 2021
In my Father's Den was not what I expected it to be but I found that once I started it I could not put it down. The style of writing reminded me of Alice Sebold's 'A Lovely Bones' however, this book was written long before hand in 1972. It is about the murder of a 17 year old girl Celia. Her English teacher, Paul is thought to be the killer however the really murder is eventually found it is not before Paul and his past is exposed. This story captured my interest almost immediately, but there were times when I had to put it down because I found it deeply disturbing and twisted. It draws on the profound darkness of humanity and what people are truly capable of. This novel is so well written, the plot is intricately woven with suspense and the prose is of high quality creating very vivid imagery throughout the book.
July 31, 2021
Need to read more kiwi fiction. Enjoyed hearing familiar place names like Muriwai and Takapuna.
I found this depiction of the WW2 to Cold War period of NZ society, with its slight conservativeness, pastoral landscape small town atmosphere did ring true.
Paul’s character I sympathised with a lot of the time however found him increasingly self absorbed and my reservations towards him increased. There are also parts of the novel that show its age or the ideas of the time it was written, particularly Paul’s musings on woman which have slightly misogynistic undertones by today’s standards. I also found his relationship with Cecilia and conversations between them quite inappropriate. I was unsure at the end if I am meant to have reservations about his character or if this is just a product of the differences in ideas of the time it was written and now.
In any case it’s an enjoyable read.
I found this depiction of the WW2 to Cold War period of NZ society, with its slight conservativeness, pastoral landscape small town atmosphere did ring true.
Paul’s character I sympathised with a lot of the time however found him increasingly self absorbed and my reservations towards him increased. There are also parts of the novel that show its age or the ideas of the time it was written, particularly Paul’s musings on woman which have slightly misogynistic undertones by today’s standards. I also found his relationship with Cecilia and conversations between them quite inappropriate. I was unsure at the end if I am meant to have reservations about his character or if this is just a product of the differences in ideas of the time it was written and now.
In any case it’s an enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2023
Maurice Gee is a household name in NZ, primarily for his excellent younger readers novels, but I'd never read any of his adult writings. As part of my project to rectify my lack of NZ novels I added this 1972 book by Gee to my TBR list as it was rated highly in several GR lists.
And it was excellent. The writing draws you in immediately and flows so effortlessly that I flew through this captivating short book in just two very satisfying sittings.
Being set several minutes from where I live in West Auckland greatly added to the time and place for me, but a thoroughly enjoyable dark and intimate examination of a character I felt could easily be myself.
And it was excellent. The writing draws you in immediately and flows so effortlessly that I flew through this captivating short book in just two very satisfying sittings.
Being set several minutes from where I live in West Auckland greatly added to the time and place for me, but a thoroughly enjoyable dark and intimate examination of a character I felt could easily be myself.
November 22, 2024
I expected In My Father's Den to be good but not THAT good. Maurice Gee has packed so much into ~175 pages - murder, desire, religion, literature, family dynamics, social norms etc - yet it all blends together perfectly. I was surprised with how many layers there were to this story and how well its structure unravels and propels the narrative. So much more than a "murder mystery". Published in 1972 and probably better than 90% of what's written today.
June 12, 2025
I hope to read everything that Maurice Gee ever put down on paper. Murder mysteries usually hinge on a whodunnit or even whydunnit but in my father's den is such a perfect cocktail of nostalgia and small town pain that I honestly didn't mind that I could guess what happened in regards to the central crime... so so good
July 6, 2017
This was a great listen and had me on the edge of my seat figuratively speaking (I was driving while listening). The narrator was great. I never saw the movie but would like to do so now to see how the adaptation went.
August 21, 2018
Classic NZ literature. Explores themes of family, small town, religion and mental illness. Some plot points are different from the film, which is also well done and definitely worth a watch. My first Maurice Gee book as an adult and I will be seeking out his other adult work.
November 11, 2022
This is a dark mystery novel that explores jealousy, revenge and desire. I haven't seen the movei/ TV version of this but it looks very different from what the book. The main character is the teacher Paul Prior. Through the investigation of one of the death of a student, we learn about Paul's present conflicts and his past. To me, it is a lot about repression of feelings which ultimately comes out in violent ugly ways. I think the mystery unfolded a chapter or so too early so I felt it lost a bit of the tension of the twist. I also felt that there was not quite enough in the building of the murderer's personality and what shaped him, to become the person to commit such a monstrous act. Nonetheless, it is a compelling mystery with beautiful language. highly recommended
December 28, 2022
A great, terribly dark story. Maurice Gee has created a web of interesting and flawed characters. The peppering of New Zealand places throughout and windows into NZ of the past were interesting and enhanced the depth of the story.
July 24, 2018
An uncomfortably familiar story from local boy Maurice Gee, writing what he's best known for, a crime story. It was almost-almost better throughout than his later book Crime Story, except that in its finale it drops the third-person narrative and collapses into the chaos of the dreaded First Person. But it was one of his first novels, there's no need to be too judgemental.
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