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They Called Me Margaret
2018 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Margaret Manning has spent the better part of her life conforming to the expectations of other people—first her father, then her husband. To break from this tradition, she becomes a writer of cozy mysteries and is in the process of living out her dream of opening her own bookstore—The Indie Book Nook—featuring self-published authors. But when she perceives her husband is behaving similarly to some of the unscrupulous characters in her books, she fears that she will lose him or—maybe even worse—that she is losing her mind. While abandonment is nothing new to Margaret—she hasn’t seen or heard from her mother since she was six years old—the fear of losing her husband is devastating. As she struggles to find the strength to mend her shattered marriage, she must also cope with her obscure health issues, her daughter’s precarious behavior, a disingenuous neighbor, and an unpredictable mother-in-law. Who in her life is a friend and who is more of a foe is not always apparent, and it’s up to Margaret to figure it all out.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2018
89 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Florence Osmund
12 books109 followersAfter more than three decades of working in a business career, Florence Osmund retired to write books. In the course of writing seven novels, she learned a lot about how to be a successful writer and the publishing industry in general. Her book "How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Novel" is dedicated to helping new authors—offering advice she wishes she had received before starting her first book.
Osmund is a book reviewer for several local, national, and international organizations. She currently resides on a tranquil lake in northern Illinois where she is working on her next novel.
Osmund is a book reviewer for several local, national, and international organizations. She currently resides on a tranquil lake in northern Illinois where she is working on her next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 11, 2018
Margaret is a cozy mystery author on the path to opening up her bookstore/coffee shop. Lately, things have begun to disappear, and all around her things seem off. At first, she assumes it is her husband playing out her books, making her feel like she is losing it. What is going on?
Margaret is on a path that is strange. She is burdened with an ailing mother in law, her own mother who left her and now reappears, strange acting neighbors, and a less than steady home life with her husband and daughter. All in all, though Margaret is a great character. She is likable and relatable. I definitely can relate to the mother issues because of well moms. Ha! While her husband and neighbors just were not my favorite people, I enjoyed this rollercoaster of a ride.
This was not my first book by this author, and I have to say that once again her book was wonderfully written and I can't wait to read more.
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Margaret is on a path that is strange. She is burdened with an ailing mother in law, her own mother who left her and now reappears, strange acting neighbors, and a less than steady home life with her husband and daughter. All in all, though Margaret is a great character. She is likable and relatable. I definitely can relate to the mother issues because of well moms. Ha! While her husband and neighbors just were not my favorite people, I enjoyed this rollercoaster of a ride.
This was not my first book by this author, and I have to say that once again her book was wonderfully written and I can't wait to read more.
http://www.boundlessbookreviews.com
https://www.facebook.com/BBReviews
February 21, 2021
Enjoyable and witty
Though I was expecting more of a gotcha! moment from this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a book that made me laugh out loud because the protagonist was so funny and relatable. Not to mention, how confused I was at many parts of the story, which generally makes sense when the protagonist is confused herself. I hated some characters and loved others but this book really took me on an adventure
Though I was expecting more of a gotcha! moment from this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a book that made me laugh out loud because the protagonist was so funny and relatable. Not to mention, how confused I was at many parts of the story, which generally makes sense when the protagonist is confused herself. I hated some characters and loved others but this book really took me on an adventure
February 22, 2018
In her most recent work, THEY CALLED ME MARGARET, Florence Osmund has proven herself to be an adept master at plotting. Told through the lens of main character, Margaret, this novel is jam-packed with many twists and turns (and unanswered questions) all tightly woven together to make it a real page-turner. Margaret is a tenacious, complicated character with a complicated past and a frustrating cast of characters in her present, including a baffling husband, an erratic daughter, and a busy-body neighbor. In the midst of her surprising and winding journey, her satirical sense of humor is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Osmund’s finest achievement to-date, it is definitely worth your time.
December 16, 2019
I enjoyed this well-written story. Watching a woman descend into mental illness was fascinating. I chuckled at how a self-published author wrote about opening a brick and mortar book store for self-published authors. Nice idea. Let's do it!
Katherine was a fun, relatable character. I thought the subplots involving Portia and Margaret's mother were underdeveloped. And having two-generations of neighbors sleeping together to stir stuff up felt gratuitous. Overall, the book kept my interest. This is my second Osmund book, and I look forward to reading more of her novels.
Katherine was a fun, relatable character. I thought the subplots involving Portia and Margaret's mother were underdeveloped. And having two-generations of neighbors sleeping together to stir stuff up felt gratuitous. Overall, the book kept my interest. This is my second Osmund book, and I look forward to reading more of her novels.
February 19, 2019
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This is an unusual book, as it seems to flow between genres and styles as the story progresses. We start with a typical mystery setup of mysterious things happening to our title character, and then the disappearance of a neighbour. Gradually the suspense tone lightens as we meet a motley of friends and family with comedic potential – the bitter mother-in-law, the adult daughter out to ‘find herself’, the flighty neighbour and so on. There is even a hint of a potential romantic interest!
As you read the book however, the gap between what you are told and what you perceive slowly widens to uncomfortable proportions and the reader is faced with the problem of who to believe when everyone appears to be behaving suspiciously and you can’t trust your own intuition.
Because this is not really a ‘genre’ story at all, despite Margaret’s own proficiency in that arena. This is a story about family and about trust, communication and support. It is about aging and parenting, marriage and friendship. The main focus is Margaret herself. We see through her eyes and hear through her ears, but put our own interpretations on events and make our own judgements about who is persecuting her into a state of constant stress. I found the character of Carl particularly baffling throughout the novel – his actions and motivations seemed totally erratic and incomprehensible – however it became clear that this was because Margaret didn’t understand him. No shortage of subtle and clever characterisation here!
The ending was unexpected but fitting, and I liked how certain aspects came full circle despite how far the characters had moved on. Even though the story concluded I felt the closing vignette left the door open for the author to revisit Margaret and co at a future point to see how they are all getting on.
(I will just finally note that I LOVE the idea of The Indie Book Nook, and wish there was one near me! Self-published books, refreshments and animal companionship…bookworm heaven!)
Earlier in the day, I had nearly lost it when I couldn’t find the pocket watch – one of the few things I’d had of my mother’s – engraved with the words TIME IS A GIFT. It appeared to be old, like maybe it had belonged to someone else before my mother.
The previous summer, when my silver bracelet went missing, I thought I must have been careless with it. And then when I couldn’t find the Eiffel Tower Limoges box containing one pearly earring, I figured my memory wasn’t what it used to be. But the third missing item – the pocket watch – caused me to think differently, that either I was losing my mind, or someone wanted me to think I was.
– Florence Osmund, They Called Me Margaret
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
This is an unusual book, as it seems to flow between genres and styles as the story progresses. We start with a typical mystery setup of mysterious things happening to our title character, and then the disappearance of a neighbour. Gradually the suspense tone lightens as we meet a motley of friends and family with comedic potential – the bitter mother-in-law, the adult daughter out to ‘find herself’, the flighty neighbour and so on. There is even a hint of a potential romantic interest!
As you read the book however, the gap between what you are told and what you perceive slowly widens to uncomfortable proportions and the reader is faced with the problem of who to believe when everyone appears to be behaving suspiciously and you can’t trust your own intuition.
Because this is not really a ‘genre’ story at all, despite Margaret’s own proficiency in that arena. This is a story about family and about trust, communication and support. It is about aging and parenting, marriage and friendship. The main focus is Margaret herself. We see through her eyes and hear through her ears, but put our own interpretations on events and make our own judgements about who is persecuting her into a state of constant stress. I found the character of Carl particularly baffling throughout the novel – his actions and motivations seemed totally erratic and incomprehensible – however it became clear that this was because Margaret didn’t understand him. No shortage of subtle and clever characterisation here!
The ending was unexpected but fitting, and I liked how certain aspects came full circle despite how far the characters had moved on. Even though the story concluded I felt the closing vignette left the door open for the author to revisit Margaret and co at a future point to see how they are all getting on.
(I will just finally note that I LOVE the idea of The Indie Book Nook, and wish there was one near me! Self-published books, refreshments and animal companionship…bookworm heaven!)
Earlier in the day, I had nearly lost it when I couldn’t find the pocket watch – one of the few things I’d had of my mother’s – engraved with the words TIME IS A GIFT. It appeared to be old, like maybe it had belonged to someone else before my mother.
The previous summer, when my silver bracelet went missing, I thought I must have been careless with it. And then when I couldn’t find the Eiffel Tower Limoges box containing one pearly earring, I figured my memory wasn’t what it used to be. But the third missing item – the pocket watch – caused me to think differently, that either I was losing my mind, or someone wanted me to think I was.
– Florence Osmund, They Called Me Margaret
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
August 3, 2018
Overall dry and dull
This book is not totally boring but it's not exactly thrilling either. While the plot is actually quite exciting, the story, as written, is shallow. Over and over the reader is subjected to dull, repetitive descriptions and a main character who has crying meltdowns at least twice a chapter. (Ok - I did not actually count the crying meltdowns but it definitely became tiresome.) Margaret is also so irritatingly self-,absorbed it is difficult
to get past her facade and focus on the interactions between characters, relationships, plot development and dialogue, that move the story forward. With the exception of Katherine and Margaret's mother, the personalities of the other characters are just as flat. While reading I kept expecting something lively to happen or see loose ends tied up. I was sorely disappointed. Although there is room for improvement, Florence Osmund is not without potential. I do hope this is one of her early works. It would be nice to know there is hope that Ms. Osmond might gain skills that would mature her as an author and she might begin to appeal to a wider audience.
This book is not totally boring but it's not exactly thrilling either. While the plot is actually quite exciting, the story, as written, is shallow. Over and over the reader is subjected to dull, repetitive descriptions and a main character who has crying meltdowns at least twice a chapter. (Ok - I did not actually count the crying meltdowns but it definitely became tiresome.) Margaret is also so irritatingly self-,absorbed it is difficult
to get past her facade and focus on the interactions between characters, relationships, plot development and dialogue, that move the story forward. With the exception of Katherine and Margaret's mother, the personalities of the other characters are just as flat. While reading I kept expecting something lively to happen or see loose ends tied up. I was sorely disappointed. Although there is room for improvement, Florence Osmund is not without potential. I do hope this is one of her early works. It would be nice to know there is hope that Ms. Osmond might gain skills that would mature her as an author and she might begin to appeal to a wider audience.
September 2, 2019
"I'd never realized how important feeling normal was until I didn't."
I don't think I have ever felt such varying opinions towards a book as I did with this one. I have to admit to oscillating between finding the story absolutely fascinating in its portrayal of a woman who seems to be losing her mind, and finding myself unable to sympathize with that very same woman as she becomes overwhelmingly lost in self pity and suspicion. The writing was good, although it felt slightly rushed and clipped in places. A few of the characters were brilliantly written, while my mind struggled to successfully place others into the overall picture. The story picked up significantly towards the last third of the narrative, and the ending was unsurprising but satisfying. As to the portrayal of Margaret's apparent loss of sanity, this was perhaps the best writing of the story. Despite being unsure of my overall thoughts towards this book, I did struggle to put it down, and would love to know how a few of the unexplained loose ends tie up.
I don't think I have ever felt such varying opinions towards a book as I did with this one. I have to admit to oscillating between finding the story absolutely fascinating in its portrayal of a woman who seems to be losing her mind, and finding myself unable to sympathize with that very same woman as she becomes overwhelmingly lost in self pity and suspicion. The writing was good, although it felt slightly rushed and clipped in places. A few of the characters were brilliantly written, while my mind struggled to successfully place others into the overall picture. The story picked up significantly towards the last third of the narrative, and the ending was unsurprising but satisfying. As to the portrayal of Margaret's apparent loss of sanity, this was perhaps the best writing of the story. Despite being unsure of my overall thoughts towards this book, I did struggle to put it down, and would love to know how a few of the unexplained loose ends tie up.
September 12, 2020
Another enjoyable book by Florence Osmund. As the description reads, the main character is a woman, old enough to have a college-aged daughter. What makes this book interesting is how the encounters this woman has can be easily interpreted differently depending on your point of view. Other people give a very different interpretation of the same interactions in such a believable way that you don’t know what to think. The woman’s reactions to what she believes is going on just digs her in deeper. The wide range of characters also added to my enjoyment of the book.
December 29, 2018
3 I guess
This book is tricky to rate as my feelings are mixed. It was somewhat difficult to read because the character was confusing and jumping to odd conclusions but it turns out there was some intention there. But she was difficult to bond with. The blurb in about needs to be worked on as it reveals things too far into the book. But in a way I suspect it succeeded at its intention.
This book is tricky to rate as my feelings are mixed. It was somewhat difficult to read because the character was confusing and jumping to odd conclusions but it turns out there was some intention there. But she was difficult to bond with. The blurb in about needs to be worked on as it reveals things too far into the book. But in a way I suspect it succeeded at its intention.
May 29, 2018
I loved this book!!!
What a great story. The author was right on the money! I was intrigued and actually lost sleep, as I was reading well into the night on several occasions. I became to involved with Margaret's life, I was thinking of her situation while at work, (don't tell my boss) Thank you Florence Osmund for yet another great book!
What a great story. The author was right on the money! I was intrigued and actually lost sleep, as I was reading well into the night on several occasions. I became to involved with Margaret's life, I was thinking of her situation while at work, (don't tell my boss) Thank you Florence Osmund for yet another great book!
September 26, 2018
The characters never made sense. They didn't seem to follow any real motive or goal. The main character's problems are explained but her husband and neighbors make no sense. And why do we never hear from Lance? Very odd. But I finished it! If I had totally hated it, I sure would not have done that.
March 29, 2021
If Margaret’s dream was to be a success, she needed her family's support and trust. Yet, Margaret had a difficult time trusting anyone, including herself. I enjoyed the journey of her thoughts and dry humor as she tried to prove her independence, and I never suspected some of the twists and turns put before her.
July 16, 2021
They called me Margaret- Interesting read
I enjoyed reading They Called Me Margaret. The characters were interesting and well developed. I especially enjoyed getting to know and understand Margaret and her mother-in-law Katherine was a great character with some hilarious line. She was laugh out loud funny in another wise serious book.
I enjoyed reading They Called Me Margaret. The characters were interesting and well developed. I especially enjoyed getting to know and understand Margaret and her mother-in-law Katherine was a great character with some hilarious line. She was laugh out loud funny in another wise serious book.
July 21, 2021
A fun read
I love Margaret and this tale of her wandering mental fitness, her wandering daughter, her wandering mother, and her wandering husband. Margaret’s mother-in-law is a hoot as a querulous and outspoken senior citizen embarking on dementia. The mystery aspect kept me wanting to read more even at 1 AM. An enjoyable book.
I love Margaret and this tale of her wandering mental fitness, her wandering daughter, her wandering mother, and her wandering husband. Margaret’s mother-in-law is a hoot as a querulous and outspoken senior citizen embarking on dementia. The mystery aspect kept me wanting to read more even at 1 AM. An enjoyable book.
October 30, 2024
A rare 5 star!
I loved everything about it! Great protagonist and all the others who came together with such heart and conflict to keep the plot rolling toward the end. I was frequently taken by surprise at the blending of what I knew would be problem relationships that were not. Very enjoyable.
I loved everything about it! Great protagonist and all the others who came together with such heart and conflict to keep the plot rolling toward the end. I was frequently taken by surprise at the blending of what I knew would be problem relationships that were not. Very enjoyable.
February 4, 2018
The author establishes depth for the character of Margaret. This allows the reader to understand and relate to the character nicely. The book flows and reads easily with many struggles and lessons learned as Margaret finds her strength and self-worth. This is an interesting and insightful read.
July 19, 2018
Margaret is a complicated character with a complicated past, with a husband that may be trying to drive her crazy, a daughter that has her own problems, and a busy-body neighbor. Loved her mother in law
August 27, 2018
It was like I walked into the middle of something and didn’t know exactly what was going on so I waited politely to see if I would get it. My mind went all different directions and I never quite figured out what was going on with Margaret and why. I guess just a day in the life.
March 16, 2019
Fascinating book
This book was engrossing from beginning to end. There were so many twists and turns, I could hardly wait to pick it up and read the next part. I even learned something about the main characters disease, which I had never heard of. Very well written.
This book was engrossing from beginning to end. There were so many twists and turns, I could hardly wait to pick it up and read the next part. I even learned something about the main characters disease, which I had never heard of. Very well written.
Read
December 25, 2020Interesting storyline
I enjoyed this story with some twists and turns I didn't anticipate. I could see myself in facing some of same type of life challenges. This is a story that can make you uncomfortable but keeps you engaged.
I enjoyed this story with some twists and turns I didn't anticipate. I could see myself in facing some of same type of life challenges. This is a story that can make you uncomfortable but keeps you engaged.
June 26, 2018
We are proud to announce that THEY CALLED ME MARGARET by Florence Osmund is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells readers that this book is well worth their time and money!
July 31, 2018
Quite a few twists and turns!
I enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting. It had a not so much expected ending. I will read more from this author!
I enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting. It had a not so much expected ending. I will read more from this author!
August 4, 2018
It was an interesting read and gave an insight about how some authors think.
August 10, 2018
Just Ok
I ended up skipping a lot of the book so I could find out what happened. It was, to me, an odd book
I ended up skipping a lot of the book so I could find out what happened. It was, to me, an odd book
August 12, 2018
A good read with a lot of character development. Some parts are laugh out loud funny and others were sad. A lot happens in Margarets life, yet she's a tough one through it all.
July 9, 2019
Boring & repetitive. Some of the plot was incredibly predictable & the others weren’t expounded upon enough. But, the repetition was annoying.
November 25, 2019
This was an interesting book for me, as I work at a bookshop in Lake Geneva, WI. I enjoyed the twists and turns this story took. It kept me engrossed!
January 23, 2022
Must read.
I have lived her life of.mental illness and not knowing who to believe.
Your friends or so.call friends try to make you think one way when the truth is the opposite.
I have lived her life of.mental illness and not knowing who to believe.
Your friends or so.call friends try to make you think one way when the truth is the opposite.
October 10, 2018
Thought provoking
An unusual story line, but still very readable. I read this in two sittings as I really wanted to find out the ending.
An unusual story line, but still very readable. I read this in two sittings as I really wanted to find out the ending.
June 27, 2018
Fascinating, couldn't put it down. The plot twists and turns in Margaret's life kept me intrigued.
A great story about finding yourself and empowerment. I highly recommend this book.
A great story about finding yourself and empowerment. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews