What do you think?
Rate this book
The Apricot Colonel #1
The Apricot Colonel
For Cassandra, an editor, books are easy to sort out. It's the real life that's the challenge: it doesn't sit quietly and let itself be fixed. Right now Cassandra's life seems far too heavy on the suspense, while the romance is distinctly unconvincing. But that was before the murders started, and before she suspected her own name was on the hit list.
263 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Marion Halligan
37 books18 followersMarion Halligan AM was an Australian writer and novelist. Born and educated in Newcastle, New South Wales, she worked as a school teacher and journalist prior to turning to full time writing.
A long time resident of Canberra, she was a member of a group of women writers based in Canberra known as the "Canberra Seven" or "Seven Writers" (1980-1997).
She has won and been shortlisted for numerous significant awards, notably for The Point, Lovers' Knots, Spider Cup and The Golden Dress.
In 2006 Halligan was made a Member in the Order of Australia (AM), General Division, for services to literature and for her work in promoting Australian literature.
A long time resident of Canberra, she was a member of a group of women writers based in Canberra known as the "Canberra Seven" or "Seven Writers" (1980-1997).
She has won and been shortlisted for numerous significant awards, notably for The Point, Lovers' Knots, Spider Cup and The Golden Dress.
In 2006 Halligan was made a Member in the Order of Australia (AM), General Division, for services to literature and for her work in promoting Australian literature.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 4, 2021
This was not for me. I think there is a really good character and probably a good story in there, but it is buried too deep for me to find.
The problem in which it is buried (for me) is lack of punctuation. For a start, the author has made that odd decision to eliminate quote marks for conversation. That is mainly what killed it for me. There is a fair amount of conversation, but without quote marks you either get the; he said, she said, he looked archly, she mumbled ect ect ect. OR and worse, you lose track of who is saying what when.
There was something else odd about the writing though, and I don't really know what it was. I just found the text had a certain blandness to it, that was not the events, nor the language nor the punctuation. I found I could not connect emotively with anything written. It might be that I was always trying to double guess whether it was meant to be a conversation or not, some of the descriptions that were evidently NOT a conversation did not seem as flat and bland.
Anyway. Not for me.
The problem in which it is buried (for me) is lack of punctuation. For a start, the author has made that odd decision to eliminate quote marks for conversation. That is mainly what killed it for me. There is a fair amount of conversation, but without quote marks you either get the; he said, she said, he looked archly, she mumbled ect ect ect. OR and worse, you lose track of who is saying what when.
There was something else odd about the writing though, and I don't really know what it was. I just found the text had a certain blandness to it, that was not the events, nor the language nor the punctuation. I found I could not connect emotively with anything written. It might be that I was always trying to double guess whether it was meant to be a conversation or not, some of the descriptions that were evidently NOT a conversation did not seem as flat and bland.
Anyway. Not for me.
May 9, 2012
Transferring the books on my spreadsheet to Goodreads - one thing I do remember though is that I hated the lack of punctuation - I gritted my teeth through the whole book!!!
March 1, 2024
A clever, engrossing, rule-breaking treasure of a novel.
I loved it!
As a retired book editor, I felt a close affinity with Cassandra that was consolidated by her seeringly accurate portrayal of the editing process.
More than that, though, I loved her breaking of the rules of punctuation and quotation marks; brilliant. Halligan has created fascinating characters living extraordinary, ordinary lives, and woven them into an intricate, insightful whodunnit.
Vale, Marion Halligan. I wish I'd had the privilege of knowing you.
I loved it!
As a retired book editor, I felt a close affinity with Cassandra that was consolidated by her seeringly accurate portrayal of the editing process.
More than that, though, I loved her breaking of the rules of punctuation and quotation marks; brilliant. Halligan has created fascinating characters living extraordinary, ordinary lives, and woven them into an intricate, insightful whodunnit.
Vale, Marion Halligan. I wish I'd had the privilege of knowing you.
July 3, 2024
I don’t think I was the target audience for this one. It’s sort of like a light hearted crime novel. But while there were some witty remarks, the overall tone wasn’t actually that light or funny. And the crime itself felt to only be part of the focus. We spent a lot of time in the head of Cassandra, pondering art with her, and observing her weird observations of the world.
I do like to read Australian fiction because I like the nostalgia with the cultural references and descriptions of lifestyle. But with this book set in Canberra, it was a whole other level of familiarity. It referenced Paperchain bookstore! And it was also partially set on the south coast so there were references to driving down the Clyde. I did read part of this book while at the coast so that was a lovely little overlap.
On the negative side, I never really connected with any of the characters. And I was little thrown when there were hints towards there being romantic feelings between Cassandra and her client! The colonel just living with her. He’s her client? And now they greet each other in the morning with cheek kisses? I think in my head I pictured him quite a bit older than the protagonist (which I think he is, there was a specific comment from Cassandra that he could be her father’s age). I think I just didn’t really relate to that romantic side of things, not just because of the age, but the book itself didn’t feel romantic and warm, so it just felt weird and then a bit like “oh okay” when that did happen at the end.
My colleague lent me this book off the back of us saying we both enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, and in my opinion this does not come anywhere close to the charm and personality of that book/series.
Points for cover art though!
I do like to read Australian fiction because I like the nostalgia with the cultural references and descriptions of lifestyle. But with this book set in Canberra, it was a whole other level of familiarity. It referenced Paperchain bookstore! And it was also partially set on the south coast so there were references to driving down the Clyde. I did read part of this book while at the coast so that was a lovely little overlap.
On the negative side, I never really connected with any of the characters. And I was little thrown when there were hints towards there being romantic feelings between Cassandra and her client! The colonel just living with her. He’s her client? And now they greet each other in the morning with cheek kisses? I think in my head I pictured him quite a bit older than the protagonist (which I think he is, there was a specific comment from Cassandra that he could be her father’s age). I think I just didn’t really relate to that romantic side of things, not just because of the age, but the book itself didn’t feel romantic and warm, so it just felt weird and then a bit like “oh okay” when that did happen at the end.
My colleague lent me this book off the back of us saying we both enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, and in my opinion this does not come anywhere close to the charm and personality of that book/series.
Points for cover art though!
April 6, 2018
Initially this book struck me as light-hearted self-absorption with a touch of learning "for everyone else". Then it shifted gear to explore a few current issues with a bit of challenge but not seeming too threatening despite the community reactions to individual cases of similar thread. It seemed a little cerebral rather than atmospheric. But perhaps it combined a few too many issues into the one volume because I found the ending, although surprising, a bit disappointing in its hook back to a literary quote. Tough territory mostly entertaining rather than a real challenge.
May 26, 2022
A murder mystery romance with a difference. I enjoyed the references to works of art, artists and Cassandra’s love of words and books (and her writing suggestions as an editor). It is a different writing style which took me awhile to ‘find its groove’ but then really enjoyed it. Very Australian.
January 3, 2013
This was first posted at my blog: http://ifnotread.wordpress.com/
I read Marian Halligan’s latest collection of short stories Shooting The Fox and I was eager to read her other works. I couldn’t imagine her writing anything I didn’t like (no pressure, Marian).
The Apricot Colonel‘s narrator is Cassandra, a young woman, single, an editor who lives in O’Connor, Canberra, lover of sauvignon blanc and dictionaries. The story is set in 2003 and very much a sign of the times as it begins with the Canberra bush fires.
Cassandra meets the ever-mysterious Colonel Al Marriott, the ‘Apricot Colonel’ for business reasons. He wants her to look over his memoir of his experience in the Gulf. During this time, Canberra has a killer among them and the connections to Cassandra leaves her feeling unsafe and paranoid. The relationship between her and the colonel is murky from the start and you sense an instant chemistry.
Giving Cassandra the occupation of editor gave Halligan freedom to write some delicious insight:
"I know the literary fascisti tell us that’s where post-modern truth lies, in the memoir. Ho ho. If you want true confessions, give me a novel any day…a novelist can’t hide the way a memoirist can."
Cassandra tells us of her other editing jobs, one being a GAN – the Great Australian Novel:
“I reckon this brilliant but flawed work is its creator’s swansong…In the Middle Ages they believed that there was nothing perfect beneath the moon, and so do I. We live in a sublunary and mutable world which breaks our hearts and yet still provides the only occasions of bliss we will ever know.”
Halligan’s writing is a subtle touch, exactly the reason I enjoyed Shooting The Fox. There is a undercurrent of feminine sexuality; Cassandra is indecisiveness on which gender she prefers her partners to be. A friend introduces her to Dermot, handsome, lawyer, ticks all the boxes. He initially seems very keen on her but Cassandra is not always convinced, being too savvy a woman:
"…Dermot excused himself and went out, coming back with a street directory of Canberra. Just checking I know the way to Cleo’s, he said.
Haven’t you been there before?
Oh, yes, but you can’t be too careful. You know the old Canberra torturous streets.
I refrained from saying, You mean tortuous. I do know how smart girls should behave."
The relationship between Cassandra and her mother was especially enjoyable to read. When her mother meets the colonel for the first time, she is instantly flirtatious, Cassandra noting “I feel my status rising in my mother’s eyes, at the same time as my spirits fall.” Cassandra asks after her new beau:
"So, George’s nice, I said, knowing she wouldn’t say otherwise.
Of course darling. Quite gorgeous. Would I if he weren’t?
There’s a silence after this, as if even she has heard what she said, and remembered that her men are always gorgeous at the beginning and monsters at the finish."
As I was enjoying this book, I was thinking of the quote from Ramona Koval beneath the blurb stating this book “is Halligan at her light-hearted best.” I thought it strange to call it light-hearted – until I hit three-quarters of the way through.
A dream sequence followed by descriptions of paintings (I prefer the visual to the text) and then it ends with a very Murder, She Wrote sequence – much like Jessica Fletcher summarising how she identified the murderer.
The Apricot Colonel is a light-hearted tale, with a shot of murder and mystery. Halligan’s writing is exceptional despite the fact that I was a little disappointed with its ending. Halligan’s exploration of character was delightful and something that I believe any writer can learn from.
I read Marian Halligan’s latest collection of short stories Shooting The Fox and I was eager to read her other works. I couldn’t imagine her writing anything I didn’t like (no pressure, Marian).
The Apricot Colonel‘s narrator is Cassandra, a young woman, single, an editor who lives in O’Connor, Canberra, lover of sauvignon blanc and dictionaries. The story is set in 2003 and very much a sign of the times as it begins with the Canberra bush fires.
Cassandra meets the ever-mysterious Colonel Al Marriott, the ‘Apricot Colonel’ for business reasons. He wants her to look over his memoir of his experience in the Gulf. During this time, Canberra has a killer among them and the connections to Cassandra leaves her feeling unsafe and paranoid. The relationship between her and the colonel is murky from the start and you sense an instant chemistry.
Giving Cassandra the occupation of editor gave Halligan freedom to write some delicious insight:
"I know the literary fascisti tell us that’s where post-modern truth lies, in the memoir. Ho ho. If you want true confessions, give me a novel any day…a novelist can’t hide the way a memoirist can."
Cassandra tells us of her other editing jobs, one being a GAN – the Great Australian Novel:
“I reckon this brilliant but flawed work is its creator’s swansong…In the Middle Ages they believed that there was nothing perfect beneath the moon, and so do I. We live in a sublunary and mutable world which breaks our hearts and yet still provides the only occasions of bliss we will ever know.”
Halligan’s writing is a subtle touch, exactly the reason I enjoyed Shooting The Fox. There is a undercurrent of feminine sexuality; Cassandra is indecisiveness on which gender she prefers her partners to be. A friend introduces her to Dermot, handsome, lawyer, ticks all the boxes. He initially seems very keen on her but Cassandra is not always convinced, being too savvy a woman:
"…Dermot excused himself and went out, coming back with a street directory of Canberra. Just checking I know the way to Cleo’s, he said.
Haven’t you been there before?
Oh, yes, but you can’t be too careful. You know the old Canberra torturous streets.
I refrained from saying, You mean tortuous. I do know how smart girls should behave."
The relationship between Cassandra and her mother was especially enjoyable to read. When her mother meets the colonel for the first time, she is instantly flirtatious, Cassandra noting “I feel my status rising in my mother’s eyes, at the same time as my spirits fall.” Cassandra asks after her new beau:
"So, George’s nice, I said, knowing she wouldn’t say otherwise.
Of course darling. Quite gorgeous. Would I if he weren’t?
There’s a silence after this, as if even she has heard what she said, and remembered that her men are always gorgeous at the beginning and monsters at the finish."
As I was enjoying this book, I was thinking of the quote from Ramona Koval beneath the blurb stating this book “is Halligan at her light-hearted best.” I thought it strange to call it light-hearted – until I hit three-quarters of the way through.
A dream sequence followed by descriptions of paintings (I prefer the visual to the text) and then it ends with a very Murder, She Wrote sequence – much like Jessica Fletcher summarising how she identified the murderer.
The Apricot Colonel is a light-hearted tale, with a shot of murder and mystery. Halligan’s writing is exceptional despite the fact that I was a little disappointed with its ending. Halligan’s exploration of character was delightful and something that I believe any writer can learn from.
May 30, 2012
I love the internet. Poking around looking for reactions to this novel, I discovered a site devoted to the Apricot (http://www.apricot.com.au/apricot-art...). It is wide-ranging, like the novel and includes articles about roses (Apricot Passion), making an apricot tart, and various reviews of Halligan’s book. I also stumbled across this piece about Australian women and food writing: “All Halligan's writing celebrates the senses, with the exploration of the complexities of taste taking a high priority. Halligan explains, 'I can't leave food out of my books … because it is where the real dramas of the human condition enact themselves' (2003: 4), positing that 'food is immensely important in people's lives, and for me ... it is often a way of developing plot, character, theme' (2003: 10).” (http://www.textjournal.com.au/april08...)
I liked this book – I listened to the tart voice of the narrator on an audio-book while I was sewing. Domesticity mixed with murder and tips about writing and editing. This is a book which loosely explores a mystery , but essentially it is, as Hallogan herself says "I realised when I got a long way into the novel that it is about truth and lies, honesty and dishonesty," Halligan says. "Being a murder mystery, the murderer by definition is dishonest. "But lies are being told all over the place from the Government down." The place itself is Canberra in 2003. The date is important – the war in Iraq is kicking off and Canberra will be subject to bushfires as summer proceeds. A smoky, slightly scary backdrop – all fixed by a coffee in Manuka. The lead character is an editor, which gave Halligan the opportunity to free-range all over the business of writing and editing. I enjoyed this part of the novel most. It is a slight book but engaging. Some reviewers have evoked Miss Marple but I think this excerpt is more generous and captures the flavour of the novel: “Halligan has been through some very tough times in her personal life and it's a measure of her steadiness and strength of character that she is still able - even in the face of personal, natural and political disasters - to write such a funny, clever, tough-minded book, full of literary jokes, endearing characters, and small celebrations of life's beauties.” http://www.apricot.com.au/apricot-art...
PS –Upsettingly, I did not get the wordplay of the title for quite a long time.
I liked this book – I listened to the tart voice of the narrator on an audio-book while I was sewing. Domesticity mixed with murder and tips about writing and editing. This is a book which loosely explores a mystery , but essentially it is, as Hallogan herself says "I realised when I got a long way into the novel that it is about truth and lies, honesty and dishonesty," Halligan says. "Being a murder mystery, the murderer by definition is dishonest. "But lies are being told all over the place from the Government down." The place itself is Canberra in 2003. The date is important – the war in Iraq is kicking off and Canberra will be subject to bushfires as summer proceeds. A smoky, slightly scary backdrop – all fixed by a coffee in Manuka. The lead character is an editor, which gave Halligan the opportunity to free-range all over the business of writing and editing. I enjoyed this part of the novel most. It is a slight book but engaging. Some reviewers have evoked Miss Marple but I think this excerpt is more generous and captures the flavour of the novel: “Halligan has been through some very tough times in her personal life and it's a measure of her steadiness and strength of character that she is still able - even in the face of personal, natural and political disasters - to write such a funny, clever, tough-minded book, full of literary jokes, endearing characters, and small celebrations of life's beauties.” http://www.apricot.com.au/apricot-art...
PS –Upsettingly, I did not get the wordplay of the title for quite a long time.
August 5, 2013
It was a combination of romance, mystery and wordsmithing. my favourite parts of the novel were where she actually took words and sentences apart and discussed their meanings; if it wasn't too presumptuous of an author to write about editors. (Maybe she'd been one herself?)
I didn't enjoy: the main character (a bit dumb), the references to philosophy (half-assed and pretentious, as most tend to be), and the dialogue, especially at the end, felt fake and poorly written and strained. It also, very unfortunately, had the gall to reference Christie's Poirot resolutions as a comparison to its own conclusion, which did not work well. The unconvincing dialogue/2D characters really stood out in my mind when I compared it to a Poirot novel and served to make this novel look worse rather than as the intended tip of the hat to the queen of crime.
It was the first book set in a city I've lived in and know well, though, so that endeared it to me. It was certainly a fun read and I'll be trying out some of Marion Halligan's more serious looking books.
I didn't enjoy: the main character (a bit dumb), the references to philosophy (half-assed and pretentious, as most tend to be), and the dialogue, especially at the end, felt fake and poorly written and strained. It also, very unfortunately, had the gall to reference Christie's Poirot resolutions as a comparison to its own conclusion, which did not work well. The unconvincing dialogue/2D characters really stood out in my mind when I compared it to a Poirot novel and served to make this novel look worse rather than as the intended tip of the hat to the queen of crime.
It was the first book set in a city I've lived in and know well, though, so that endeared it to me. It was certainly a fun read and I'll be trying out some of Marion Halligan's more serious looking books.
February 23, 2010
I should have known better when the note on the back starts with "A beautiful man, and all she can do is tinker with his prose..."
But Halligan was on a list of contemporary Australian authors (at my local library) so I figured I'd give her a try. If this is typical of her writing style, I won't bother again.
About a third of the way through I figured I'd just have to accept it was a trashy paperback and enjoy it for what it was. Trouble was... it wasn't even all that engaging and I kept falling asleep through the middle. The ending kept me engaged at least but not really because it was good - more because it was bizarre.
But Halligan was on a list of contemporary Australian authors (at my local library) so I figured I'd give her a try. If this is typical of her writing style, I won't bother again.
About a third of the way through I figured I'd just have to accept it was a trashy paperback and enjoy it for what it was. Trouble was... it wasn't even all that engaging and I kept falling asleep through the middle. The ending kept me engaged at least but not really because it was good - more because it was bizarre.
December 25, 2016
What an odd book.
I borrowed it as an ebook from the local library on a whim and now I'm really not sure why. Parts of the book, some paragraphs, and in other instances whole pages, were quite a pleasant read and then it went nowhere fast. For a book that was written from the perspective of an arrogant editor whose author was unable to take any of her own editing advice, what could have been a good book was an utter disappointment.
Too many story arcs in total, too many story arcs that went nowhere, along with characters that had no point and left you wondering what the book was actually supposed to be about...weird!
I borrowed it as an ebook from the local library on a whim and now I'm really not sure why. Parts of the book, some paragraphs, and in other instances whole pages, were quite a pleasant read and then it went nowhere fast. For a book that was written from the perspective of an arrogant editor whose author was unable to take any of her own editing advice, what could have been a good book was an utter disappointment.
Too many story arcs in total, too many story arcs that went nowhere, along with characters that had no point and left you wondering what the book was actually supposed to be about...weird!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2012
I enjoyed this book considerably, for Ms Halligan's fluent writing and all the Canberra references, as well as for the story. However, I enjoyed the sequel, Murder on the Apricot Coast, which I read a couple of years ago, a little more. I'm not sure I can explain why, which suggests a re-read of the sequel is in order, once I get the chance to pull it out of storage.
December 20, 2012
Halligan is a writer of many genres, I have a more general "literature" book waiting in the wings. The Apricot Colonel is in the mystery genre. A bit spooky. Until the very end, you're never really sure who's good or bad, who can be trusted, who can't. A fast, short read (very big print!). Fun!
November 10, 2014
I chose this book after enjoying reading The Taste of Memory and particularly loved its undeniably Australian style. I'm not usually a fan of thrillers but this was very quirky although, to be honest, a little creepy at times. It kept me guessing until the end.
March 17, 2010
Eh. It was OK I guess but the style of writing didn't suit me at all. I'm not sure why I bothered to finish it...
December 31, 2013
Easy, fun reading.
May 20, 2009
An interesting story of a book editor with a twist of mystery and murder.
March 27, 2017
The book is beautifully written if lacking in punctuation. It's part romance, part mystery, but reads like Literature. It's more descriptive than emotive so I didn't connect with any of the main characters and didn't care whether they were murdered or not. It was disappointingly easy to work out who the murderer was.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews