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Wrong Door, The
It was the talk of the wake. The woman in the red dress. Everyone at the service wondered. Who was that woman?
Pete's dead and Gwennie's life will never be the same. How could Pete, a young, fit man, leave her now? Their lives together were only just beginning. And pneumonia? It was insane, unthinkable, unbearable.
Somehow she struggles through the funeral in a daze, and the mysterious mourner in the tight-fitting red dress barely registers in her consciousness.
It's only later, when spotting a discrepancy in Pete's tax records, that she begins to wonder. Who was that woman?
"a gripping read" – Herald Sun
"Avieson turns her considerable skills to a wonderfully chilling psychological thriller" – NW Book of the Week
"With its snappy pace, this is ... an excellent read" – Marie Claire
"Avieson offers an acute psychological study of obsessive behaviour ... kind of kinky and deliciously unputdownable" – Canberra Times
This suspenseful thriller is perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Paullina Simons.
Pete's dead and Gwennie's life will never be the same. How could Pete, a young, fit man, leave her now? Their lives together were only just beginning. And pneumonia? It was insane, unthinkable, unbearable.
Somehow she struggles through the funeral in a daze, and the mysterious mourner in the tight-fitting red dress barely registers in her consciousness.
It's only later, when spotting a discrepancy in Pete's tax records, that she begins to wonder. Who was that woman?
"a gripping read" – Herald Sun
"Avieson turns her considerable skills to a wonderfully chilling psychological thriller" – NW Book of the Week
"With its snappy pace, this is ... an excellent read" – Marie Claire
"Avieson offers an acute psychological study of obsessive behaviour ... kind of kinky and deliciously unputdownable" – Canberra Times
This suspenseful thriller is perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Paullina Simons.
368 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 2, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a mystery that moves along slowly, peeling back different layers of the story and the characters as the book progresses, I found this captivating.
Claire lives at home with her mother Peg and sister Marla, her mother and sister have a unique relationship and we discover this as the book becomes more involved. Claire feels left out a lot of the time and this upsets her. She develops a friendship with Mr Sanjay, her elderly next door neighbour. My Sanjay is a very quiet and thoughtful man, incredibly wise and he develops a fondness for Claire. He takes her under his wing and spends many hours with her talking about life. When Mr Sanjay dies Claire is devastated and attends his funeral in a bright red dress that she knew Mr Sanjay would appreciate as he loved colour. Mistakenly she picks the wrong door and ends up at the funeral of Paul Davill who recently died very young from pneumonia. Claire's presence at this funeral takes everyone's attention, especially Gweenie, Paul's widow.
Both Claire and Gweenie have more in common than they know and eventually will be brought further together. This is really a very well written mystery and I would highly recommend it.
Claire lives at home with her mother Peg and sister Marla, her mother and sister have a unique relationship and we discover this as the book becomes more involved. Claire feels left out a lot of the time and this upsets her. She develops a friendship with Mr Sanjay, her elderly next door neighbour. My Sanjay is a very quiet and thoughtful man, incredibly wise and he develops a fondness for Claire. He takes her under his wing and spends many hours with her talking about life. When Mr Sanjay dies Claire is devastated and attends his funeral in a bright red dress that she knew Mr Sanjay would appreciate as he loved colour. Mistakenly she picks the wrong door and ends up at the funeral of Paul Davill who recently died very young from pneumonia. Claire's presence at this funeral takes everyone's attention, especially Gweenie, Paul's widow.
Both Claire and Gweenie have more in common than they know and eventually will be brought further together. This is really a very well written mystery and I would highly recommend it.
December 22, 2012
Excellent read! Makes you use your detective skills. Draws you in to the story!
May 5, 2018
Found this little book at an Op Shop and what a little ripper it is! Great writing and a fabulous mystery surrounding a mix up at a funeral. Really loved it.
July 11, 2019
re-reading this old favourite, stands up well (with a few silly errors)
July 11, 2024
A bit of a slow start but warmed up and had some interesting twists and turns, and unexpected finish.
July 15, 2025
An alcoholic, a dressmaker Mum and a young woman who goes to the wrong funeral! The story gets even more interesting!
September 3, 2024
I am writing this review more than a decade after I read it. Logging the books I’ve read on Goodreads has only been a recent thing for me. I am trying to remember books I have read from my past, and this is one of them.
When I decided to read this book I was not into reading at the time.
I was on a snowboard trip with friends. While snowboarding the day before I injured myself and could not snowboard again this trip. I needed to wait at the main building during the day while everyone else continued their snowboard adventures, before we could all drive home together at days end.
I had an entire day to kill and I was bored, so I wandered about. The newsagents were selling magazines and other books, so I bought this book, reluctantly.
I found a warm spot to sit, and began reading, hoping it would kill some of my spare time waiting. Reading was not my thing but I was terribly bored.
I read the entire book by that afternoon. My friends sporadically returned from snowboarding to have lunch and other breaks. I could have convinced them to leave by early afternoon and call it a day, but I needed to keep reading. I told them it was ok to snowboard until the last lift closed.
I don’t remember many of the scenes that occurred in this book. I don’t even remember what the specific mystery was, I just have a hazy memory that it’s something to do with family and relationships. I do remember that whatever the mystery was it was bloody awesome. It had me hooked.
I remember the book was set in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. This was a weird book detail for me at first, considering I know the area a little bit. But this setting ended up making the story so much more authentic and real. It was lovely to have a book setting somewhere close by and not overseas somewhere.
Now that I have began reading as a past time (it’s 2024) and I am getting through quite a lot of books regularly, I wouldn’t mind picking this book up again and seeing what I think of it a second time. This book often crosses my mind, all these years later.
When I decided to read this book I was not into reading at the time.
I was on a snowboard trip with friends. While snowboarding the day before I injured myself and could not snowboard again this trip. I needed to wait at the main building during the day while everyone else continued their snowboard adventures, before we could all drive home together at days end.
I had an entire day to kill and I was bored, so I wandered about. The newsagents were selling magazines and other books, so I bought this book, reluctantly.
I found a warm spot to sit, and began reading, hoping it would kill some of my spare time waiting. Reading was not my thing but I was terribly bored.
I read the entire book by that afternoon. My friends sporadically returned from snowboarding to have lunch and other breaks. I could have convinced them to leave by early afternoon and call it a day, but I needed to keep reading. I told them it was ok to snowboard until the last lift closed.
I don’t remember many of the scenes that occurred in this book. I don’t even remember what the specific mystery was, I just have a hazy memory that it’s something to do with family and relationships. I do remember that whatever the mystery was it was bloody awesome. It had me hooked.
I remember the book was set in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. This was a weird book detail for me at first, considering I know the area a little bit. But this setting ended up making the story so much more authentic and real. It was lovely to have a book setting somewhere close by and not overseas somewhere.
Now that I have began reading as a past time (it’s 2024) and I am getting through quite a lot of books regularly, I wouldn’t mind picking this book up again and seeing what I think of it a second time. This book often crosses my mind, all these years later.
December 1, 2016
Although I have never listened to, or read, any other Carolyn 'Bunty' Avieson books I found The Wrong Door an enjoyable audio book which kept me interested until the final twist at the end when key points in the plot were revealed and loose ends were brought together.
Moreover it was good to find another Australian author and I will keep an eye out for any other books of Carolyn's books. My only criticism, and this has nothing to do with the story, was that the reader's voice was fairly monotone and at times I realised, some time after there was a change in characters and setting, that this had occurred. Many a time I had to re-wind the disc to find where the characters and setting had changed in order to follow the story.
Moreover it was good to find another Australian author and I will keep an eye out for any other books of Carolyn's books. My only criticism, and this has nothing to do with the story, was that the reader's voice was fairly monotone and at times I realised, some time after there was a change in characters and setting, that this had occurred. Many a time I had to re-wind the disc to find where the characters and setting had changed in order to follow the story.
October 19, 2016
It was ok. I didn't feel particularly connected to any of the characters and the pace could have been a bit quicker. The mystery was good but I would have preferred it if we'd got there faster!
January 21, 2017
What an amazing book, it had me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what would happen next :)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews