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Keep Me Close
In the next instant the man was looming over her. She saw the bat raised above his head, ready to strike.
Catherine Galitza has been badly injured by an intruder in her own home. In the months before, there had been a string of nuisance calls. Are the events connected? Has someone been stalking her?
As Catherine begins her slow and painful recovery, two men seem intent on uncovering the truth: her husband’s business partner, the intense, prickly Simon Jardine, who harbours an almost obsessive devotion to Catherine; and the self-made Irish hotelier Terry Devlin, once a benign figure in Catherine’s childhood, now with a reputation for ruthlessness. But which of these men has Catherine’s real interests at heart?
Then the police arrest and charge a suspect.
Yet Catherine’s watcher is still with her. And she has no way of knowing who she can trust.
Catherine Galitza has been badly injured by an intruder in her own home. In the months before, there had been a string of nuisance calls. Are the events connected? Has someone been stalking her?
As Catherine begins her slow and painful recovery, two men seem intent on uncovering the truth: her husband’s business partner, the intense, prickly Simon Jardine, who harbours an almost obsessive devotion to Catherine; and the self-made Irish hotelier Terry Devlin, once a benign figure in Catherine’s childhood, now with a reputation for ruthlessness. But which of these men has Catherine’s real interests at heart?
Then the police arrest and charge a suspect.
Yet Catherine’s watcher is still with her. And she has no way of knowing who she can trust.
456 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
29 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Clare Francis
75 books65 followersClare Francis's first novel; Night Sky was published in 1983 to international success. It went to number one in the Sunday Times bestseller list, and spent six weeks in the New York Times top 10.
Three more thrillers followed, Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987) and Requiem (1991), which was published in the U.S. as The Killing Winds. Her first crime novel, Deceit was published in 1993, and dramatised for television in 2000. Four other highly successful crime novels have followed, and a highly acclaimed literary novel, Homeland. Her latest crime novel Unforgotten has just been published. Her books have been translated into 20 languages and published in over 30 countries.
Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, the younger of two sisters. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.
After five years at the Royal Ballet School she went to an A-level crammer in Oxford (where she appeared in the university revue Keep This to Yourself), then to University College London, where she obtained a degree in Economics. She worked in marketing for three years before taking a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.
What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures, Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.
In 1977 she married Jaques Redon with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978.
She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).
For the past twenty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President, a trustee and member of the Council of Management. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.
Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.
Three more thrillers followed, Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987) and Requiem (1991), which was published in the U.S. as The Killing Winds. Her first crime novel, Deceit was published in 1993, and dramatised for television in 2000. Four other highly successful crime novels have followed, and a highly acclaimed literary novel, Homeland. Her latest crime novel Unforgotten has just been published. Her books have been translated into 20 languages and published in over 30 countries.
Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, the younger of two sisters. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.
After five years at the Royal Ballet School she went to an A-level crammer in Oxford (where she appeared in the university revue Keep This to Yourself), then to University College London, where she obtained a degree in Economics. She worked in marketing for three years before taking a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.
What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures, Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.
In 1977 she married Jaques Redon with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978.
She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).
For the past twenty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President, a trustee and member of the Council of Management. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.
Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 3, 2014
Well it started off very well, I was intrigued by the story and the different narrative perspectives were interesting. I liked the characters, for all their faults and looked forward to figuring out their connections.
But then it seemed to descend into utter nonsense. I'm not sure if I missed a huge section of the book or if the author took a huge leap forward and forgot to tell us. Suddenly characters who've narrated and shared intimate thoughts with us, were in on it all along and have alter-egos and deep dark secrets, Catherine had a personality transplant and got shuttled around so many different locations without warning, time passed but was never specified, Ben drops in and out as if he doesn't matter and some poor guy gets blamed for everything out of the blue.
The second half of this book was a huge let down. Instead of coherent conclusions and resolutions it becomes 'he-said she-said' and complete reversals on everything we know so far. I spent the entire time thinking the pieces that were missing would be revealed eventually but instead the gaps were filled in with total craziness that detracted from the believability of the story and just made me dislike every single character. Background plots like Alice's makeover and Emma's relationship with Ben were mentioned so many times they seemed like a big deal but were ultimately used only as a crutch to push the plot along later on.
I have another Clare Francis book on my shelf but I really don't think I have the patience for it.
But then it seemed to descend into utter nonsense. I'm not sure if I missed a huge section of the book or if the author took a huge leap forward and forgot to tell us. Suddenly characters who've narrated and shared intimate thoughts with us, were in on it all along and have alter-egos and deep dark secrets, Catherine had a personality transplant and got shuttled around so many different locations without warning, time passed but was never specified, Ben drops in and out as if he doesn't matter and some poor guy gets blamed for everything out of the blue.
The second half of this book was a huge let down. Instead of coherent conclusions and resolutions it becomes 'he-said she-said' and complete reversals on everything we know so far. I spent the entire time thinking the pieces that were missing would be revealed eventually but instead the gaps were filled in with total craziness that detracted from the believability of the story and just made me dislike every single character. Background plots like Alice's makeover and Emma's relationship with Ben were mentioned so many times they seemed like a big deal but were ultimately used only as a crutch to push the plot along later on.
I have another Clare Francis book on my shelf but I really don't think I have the patience for it.
Read
July 30, 2011I've read Clare Francis before and thought they were quite good. Picked this one up second hand when I needed more holiday reading and it's a real disappointment. Kept waiting for it to get exciting and it never did! Slow and didn't really care about any of the characters!
June 8, 2013
Started off on a promising premise , but the balloon 's just pricked after about 100 pages .............the rest 356 pages , u find were an albatross around ur neck , when u encounter the plainly disappointing end . Languorous, run-of-the-mill and unjustified descriptions , and finally a plot that could probably only shock an 8yr old , this book was a total waste of time .
August 24, 2019
For me this was just an okay book. 400+ pages and it seemed like not too much happened. At some points the story seemed to really drag. I have read others by the author and they were much better than this one.
March 24, 2021
I like Clare Francis crime novels but this is a dog of a book. Utter tedium, nothing really happens, too many baffling characters and more of a romance novel than a crime thriller. Utter rubbish. It was only pure stubbornness made me finish it. 5/10
March 24, 2017
It turned out to be a mystery to find any suspense in this book as the synopsis and cover led me to believe. Best thing about it was the cover.
July 11, 2014
Slow moving. Kept waiting for the plot to play out and questions to be resolved. But really frustratingly slow. Not recommended.
October 26, 2023
An enjoyable, though predictable, read, mainly thanks to impeccable writing creating tension throughout.
November 27, 2023
I have just finished this book. I must admit it was a disappointing read from start to finish. If it was the first book of Clare’s I was reading I think I may have given up within the first few chapters. I didn’t feel a lot really happened. It just didn’t flow for me. At various times I was confused by who was who and by what was happening and why it was happening. Even in the last chapter I didn’t really fully understand what was happening.
This book isn’t stopping me from pursuing other Clare Francis books. The reason why I persevered was because The Night Sky has been my most favourite read this year- that was a wholly satisfying read which I gave 5 stars.
This book isn’t stopping me from pursuing other Clare Francis books. The reason why I persevered was because The Night Sky has been my most favourite read this year- that was a wholly satisfying read which I gave 5 stars.
January 13, 2019
#keep_me_close
#clare_francis
.
A bloody accident left Catherine paralysed. A maze was the clues, and contrasty.
Keep me close kept me nervous, where blackmailing, betrayal, and sexual assault complicate unclearly. Catherine lose the sight of facts, where everything sounds indefinite.
You go detecting and interpreting till the 4th hundreds page, where the truth appear surprising and shocking. Here you'll feel the sigh of wonder and whisper OMG!
#clare_francis
.
A bloody accident left Catherine paralysed. A maze was the clues, and contrasty.
Keep me close kept me nervous, where blackmailing, betrayal, and sexual assault complicate unclearly. Catherine lose the sight of facts, where everything sounds indefinite.
You go detecting and interpreting till the 4th hundreds page, where the truth appear surprising and shocking. Here you'll feel the sigh of wonder and whisper OMG!
August 27, 2023
It is on a truly rare occasion that I decide not to see a book through to the end. I really tried, I dragged my way through to halfway before deciding that I really didn’t care at all about any of the characters. Barely anything happens, and the male characters are all just weird in a boring way not creepy and suspicious. I could probably guess at the ending.
September 20, 2019
My first thought was 'Simon's creepy' #spoileralert, I needn't have bothered finishing the book. No really, barely anything happened (do I really need to know all about your rhododendrons?) and what little did I didn't care about.
March 25, 2022
I wasn't a fan to start, it seemed odd, slow to get going, but I am not one to give up on a story. So I kept on reading and it did improve, I was intrigued to know what had happened by the time it ended.
February 6, 2024
It started so well!!! but after a few pages and chapters it got off the hook. I was really confused about the details and stories that aren't so important to the story? It was very interesting at the start but oh well. I didn't even finish this book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2017
Brilliant. Unputdownable.
April 11, 2019
3.8 stars : I was in the mood for a good read and page-turner, and this book did the job. Lots of twists and turns - kept you guessing (though deep down, I’d guessed). Enjoyable.
July 30, 2019
Really got sucked into this one and flew through it. The ending was meh but I’m eager to read more by the author.
December 10, 2019
Long, boring and tedious. Either I zoned out a lot while reading it or there were huge gaps in the story and holes in the plot which didn’t help an already tough read!
April 20, 2020
A promising start
Then comes the most poring thing I've encountered
Really don't recommend
Then comes the most poring thing I've encountered
Really don't recommend
August 6, 2020
Started off interesting enough and then began to drag a bit in the middle. I did feel that all these men in Catherine's life were rather creepy and she would be better off with none of them.
August 29, 2020
Took a little while for me to get into this one but liked the plot and enjoyed it. Sometimes spoilt by a lack of intrigue and making things too obvious and moving quickly and suddenly.
March 17, 2021
meh.... all a bit obvious and as mentioned in other comments.... all the male characters came across as creepy..
Read
February 8, 2022A bit slow and drawn out. I failed to finish it.
October 22, 2024
Kepp me close na watt 5/5☆
March 4, 2025
Seriously depressing.
December 17, 2015
AUTHOR...
Clare Francis..
CHARACTERS..
Catherine Galitza, Ben Galitza, Terry Devlin, Simon Jardine, Maeve, Emma Elizabeth, Fergal, Alice and Duncun .
LOCATION..
London (England) and Morne (Ire Land)
GENRE..
Suspense..
PLOT.
Catherine had been by injured by an intruder at home. Months earlier she has been receiving string of nuisance calls from a number unlisted. Police department starts investigating but finds nothing in particular, because of Catherine's inability to define the profile of her attacker.
While Catherine was recovering in Hospital, this incident links with three different men connected with her life.
Is it by Ben Galitza, her husband, wanting to getting rid of Catherine for for a secret lover..? or is it by perky, intense Simon Jardine, business partner of Ben, who harbors a secret obsession and devotion for Catherine..? or by Terry Devlin, a childhood friend of Catherin, now a ruthless hotelier living at an isolated mansion in Morne, Ireland..?
After dragging 400 plus pages, author revels Simon Jardine as the villain behind the attack on Catherine ,Ben as a disloyal husband falling cheaply for other woman's lust under the nose of Catherine.
Catherine , finally leaves her husband, sells her house inherited from her mother, assisted and supported by Terry Devlin, she continues her 'house gardening " work from Ireland.
MY COMMENT...
Slow moving. Kept waiting for the plot to play out and questions to be resolved. But really frustratingly slow. Not recommended.
KEEP ME CLOSE....mere satisfactory...!!
Clare Francis..
CHARACTERS..
Catherine Galitza, Ben Galitza, Terry Devlin, Simon Jardine, Maeve, Emma Elizabeth, Fergal, Alice and Duncun .
LOCATION..
London (England) and Morne (Ire Land)
GENRE..
Suspense..
PLOT.
Catherine had been by injured by an intruder at home. Months earlier she has been receiving string of nuisance calls from a number unlisted. Police department starts investigating but finds nothing in particular, because of Catherine's inability to define the profile of her attacker.
While Catherine was recovering in Hospital, this incident links with three different men connected with her life.
Is it by Ben Galitza, her husband, wanting to getting rid of Catherine for for a secret lover..? or is it by perky, intense Simon Jardine, business partner of Ben, who harbors a secret obsession and devotion for Catherine..? or by Terry Devlin, a childhood friend of Catherin, now a ruthless hotelier living at an isolated mansion in Morne, Ireland..?
After dragging 400 plus pages, author revels Simon Jardine as the villain behind the attack on Catherine ,Ben as a disloyal husband falling cheaply for other woman's lust under the nose of Catherine.
Catherine , finally leaves her husband, sells her house inherited from her mother, assisted and supported by Terry Devlin, she continues her 'house gardening " work from Ireland.
MY COMMENT...
Slow moving. Kept waiting for the plot to play out and questions to be resolved. But really frustratingly slow. Not recommended.
KEEP ME CLOSE....mere satisfactory...!!
December 5, 2013
I have found a new fav author - my mum passed the book onto me and enjoyed it but sadly it sat on my bookshelf for years until a bad back put me on quiet duties for awhile.
Haven't finished it yet but find it very well written and flows along without me having to question the author's intentions. I'm still guessing the end result but would love to pin it on the revolting hubby. Will have to source more Clare Francis books - trip to the library I think
Haven't finished it yet but find it very well written and flows along without me having to question the author's intentions. I'm still guessing the end result but would love to pin it on the revolting hubby. Will have to source more Clare Francis books - trip to the library I think
May 14, 2009
As Catherine Galitza struggles to deal with her injuries following an attack, two very different men are anxious to discover what happened. Terry Devlin and Simon Jardine appear to have admirable motives, but could they have hidden agendas?
February 7, 2010
Catherine Galitza had been badly injured by an intruder in her own home. In the months before, there had been a string of nuisance calls, Are the events connected? Has someone been stalking her?
This is a very gripping story with quite a few twists and turns - excellently written
This is a very gripping story with quite a few twists and turns - excellently written
October 12, 2011
A disappointing book. All the characters put in place to make a psychological thriller, but the author omitted the depiction of the characters. None of them are fleshed out in any detail, which is especially egregious for the ostensible heroine and her horrible husband.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews