The Unforgiven

by Patricia MacDonald

She swore she was innocent.
Maggie Fraser has tried to forget.
The body of the man she loved.
The blood seeping into the snow.
The scandalous murder trial.

The twelve agonizing years in prison for a crime she did not commit. But now Maggie is free -- and ready to start a new life. Alone. Unknown. On a quiet island off the coast of New England, she accepts a job with the local newspaper. And slowly, she tries to put the past behind her, opening her heart to the paper's ruggedly handsome editor, Jess Herlie. Then the nightmare begins...again.

Now she must pay.

Someone is watching Maggie's every move -- and waiting for revenge. Someone who refuses to forgive and forget. Someone who would do anything, even destroy innocent lives, to teach the guilty that there is no sanctuary, no escape, for...

The Unforgiven

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Patricia MacDonald is the author of several psychological suspense novels set in small towns. MacDonald grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and has a master's degree from Boston College. Before writing her own novels she was a book editor and was once an editor for a soap opera magazine in New York. She is married to writer Art Bourgeau. They live in Cape May, New Jersey and have one daughter.

Her first novel, The Unforgiven, published in 1981, received an Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. Secret Admirer (1995) won the literary prize at the 1997 Deauville Film Festival in France, where MacDonald is consistently a number one bestseller. She’s also been awarded the prize for literature at the International Forum of Cinema and Literature in Monaco.

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Edgar Award-nominated debut was well deserved. A suspenseful psychological thriller, with it's share of gruesome effects. For a thirty year old novel, debut or not by a young author...it was one of those fast can't-put-down reads. I will be looking for some of her other novels.

[Unsolved ☕︎ Mystery]

I pretty much abandoned my ABC reading challenge for this year.
My family has had a lot going on this year and then I went through depression and reading slumps; I wasn't interested in much of anything, including reading.

I didn't finish this book so there will not be a rating.

I'm hopeful that things will be better now.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quite predictable plot with some naive characters.

2* Secret Admirer
2* The Unforgiven

[Anu Korpinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ja puoli tähteä. Tämä vuonna 1981 ilmestynyt trilleri oli nopealukuinen ja vetävä, mutta ehkä hiukan ennalta-arvattava. Päähenkilö Maggie Fraser on istunut 12 vuoden tuomion murhasta, jota hän ei ole tehnyt. Vapauduttuaan hän lähtee työpaikan toivossa etäiselle saarelle, jonka tiivis yhteisö ei suhtaudu kovin suopeasti vieraisiin. Maggien ympärillä tuntuu tapahtuvan kaikenlaista kummaa ja kirja onkin antoisin kuvatessaan Maggien epävarmuutta ja pelkotiloja yhä uhkaavammaksi muuttuvassa ympäristössä. Lajityypin kliseiltä ei vältytä, tosin vuonna 1981 vertailukohdat olivat varmaan toiset. Tuskastuin esimerkiksi heti kun Maggie alkoi haaveilla lemmikistä, sillä tiedän miten trillereissä/dekkareissa käy päähenkilön lemmikeille. Tämä kirja ei ollut poikkeus, Maggien seurakseen hankkima koiranpentu Willie kokee ikävähkön lopun. Triggeröidyn eläimiin kohdistuvasta väkivallasta, joten ehkä otan asian liian vakavasti, mutta tää tietty juonikuvio on toistuu lajityypissä monasti. Monasti, monasti, monasti...

Yksi asia joka kirjassa hämmensi, mutta myös kiehtoi, oli suomenkielinen nimi. Valikoin kirjan kierrätyskeskuksesta luettavaksi pelkästään nimen perusteella, mutta en nyt luettuani ymmärrä miten se oikeastaan liittyy tarinaan. Alkukielinen nimi 'The Unforgiven' on paljon kuvaavampi. Oli oikein mukava lukea vähän vanhempaa trilleriä, jossa aikakausi on aivan erilainen. Lukijana minulle jäi mieleen erityisesti eräs kohtaus jossa yksi päähenkilöistä kaivaa ravintolaillan päätteksi piipun ja tupakkamassin esiin. Siinä vaiheessa oikein tajusin että tässä ollaan siellä 70-80-lukujen taitteessa, jolloin piipunpoltto oli varmasti yleisempää. :D

[Kiki⚜Franglaise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pas le meilleur opus de cette autrice mais néanmoins plaisant à lire, quoiqu'assez convenu et prévisible.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another dark and disturbing psychological thriller where insanity is not always easy to spot.

However, I thought some characters were naive and stupid, but then that made for a compelling story.

It was well written, fast-paced and engaging with a twisty plot.

Recommended.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the earliest and best novel by MacDonald. It's very dark with good characterization.

[Audrey RZR · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cela faisait un petit moment que je n'avais pas lu de thriller et c'était donc avec enthousiasme que je démarrais ma lecture.
Mais quelle ne fut pas ma déception!
Je n'avais jamais lu de Patricia Cornwell mais la quatrième de couverture mentionnant l'admiration de Stephen King et Mary Higgins Clark, avait aiguisé mon intérêt.
Je saurais dorénavant qu'il faut toujours se méfier de ce genre d'arguments marketing...
Le résumé avait l'air, lui aussi prometteur, nous suivons le retour à la vie normale de Maggie, qui sort de prison et trouve un poste de journaliste en Nouvelle-Angleterre. C'est l'occasion d'un nouveau départ sauf que tout ne se passe pas comme prévu.
L'intrigue n'est pas originale, le suspens peu présent sauf sur la fin mais il n'y a aucune vraie surprise.
J'avais tout compris, ou presque, au milieu du roman.
Les personnages ne sont pas très approfondis, je ne m'y suis pas attachée. L'écriture de l'auteur est plate, sans intérêt.
En gros, passez votre chemin, il y a bien mieux à lire ailleurs!

[Teresa Bonifácio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it’s a good book. Quite easy to read. I got stuck to it and I really wanted to know what happened and what was going to happen. I just didn’t really liked the end of it. It felt rushed. Just like “hey, this happened, the end”. In these kind of books something like “2 months” later is a good addition. Just so you know that the characters are well and how things were resolved.
The characters are okay, though Maggie sometimes got on my nerves. And Jess? What was that with talking about sex with her out of nowhere? That also felt rushed. Their relationship.

But the worse of all was the death of Willy. Hated it.

[Ana Nabais · Rating 3 out of 5]

É o primeiro livro que leio desta autora e gostei, não é sensacional mas lê-se bem.
Maggie acaba de sair da prisão depois de cumprir uma pena de 12 anos pelo homicídio do seu amante.
Um correspondente seu, director do jornal de uma vila numa ilha oferece-lhe um emprego e a possibilidade de recomeçar a vida num novo local onde ninguém a conhece, o que ela aceita prontamente.
Mas será que é mesmo assim? Desde que chega à ilha vai enfrentar a desconfiança dos habitantes e a sucessão de vários acontecimentos que parecem sempre desfavoráveis para ela e vai ter de lutar para sobreviver perante uma ameaça inesperada.

[Sara Carvalho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adoro a escrita de Patrícia MacDonald. Este já é o meu terceiro. Tem o dom de até aos últimos capítulos eu ter dúvidas sobre quem será o culpado ... Só não gostei do final, no sentido em que gostava que tivesse uma "depois", saber como é que as pessoas reagiram à verdade e tudo isso.
Aconselho mesmo assim !

[Diana H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a slow starter, but once you get into the plot, this is an amazing story. I thought the end was rather abrupt, but all the questions were answered, so I guess that's just the end of the story.

[Sarah Russell (Miller) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book at the suggestion of my BFFs mom, who is also a reader. The book was written in 1981, but it was good. A quick read. Nothing really exciting but also nice to read a book without all the normal cliche-y things going on right now in the book world.

[Christine Mathieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several other crime novels by Patricia MacDonald, but "The Unforgiven" is definitely her master piece. I rate it as highly as Laird Koenig's "The Little Girl who lives down the Lane", Marjorie Dorner's "Nightmare" as well as Michael Allegretto's "Night of the Reunion".

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

É o meu segundo livro da Patricia Macdonald e mais uma vez adorei. Uma escrita cativante, personagens bem definidos, fiquei tão presa ao livro que acabei por termina-lo no próprio dia que comecei a ler!
Só tenho pena que o desfecho se descubra tão cedo, de resto não tenho nada a apontar!

[Farryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected, but a good thriller. The ending is a little predictable and a bit corny. The main female character was annoyingly weak, and the "no one believes her and she's incapable of explaining herself" trope is tired. Otherwise, it was a good story that kept me engaged to the end.

[Sean McDonough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters that are all dumb as rocks ("Pie full of broken glass? Surely just an accident. Nothing sinister going on there!") but plenty of drama and tension and one hell of a good psycho villain.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Babete · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ Biblioteca ]

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: after 12 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, Maggie was free. She took a job in New England, then the nightmare began again.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1983. Convicted of a crime she didn't commit, after prison she searches for killer.

[Jan Maes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth reading. Not even on the level of a b-movie. Waste of time. Good overview of all the clichés in the genre.

[Kaylee Grimes · Rating 3 out of 5]

super easy read, maybe a little too PG for my taste. also very predictable. but the suspense at the end 👌🏼 yasss

[Érica Pinheiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorei o livro! Senti que foi o equilíbrio perfeito entre um bom romance e um bom policial cheio de mistério. Recomendo completamente.

[Tricia Cassavaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2

[valerie gosling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Utterly compelling storey unfolds slowly keeping you guessing and turning the pages until the very last page.Marvellous characters first-class plot

[Isabelle Turcotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

1e lecture de 2024…bonne histoire j ai aime pas trop de personnages on ne s y perd pas

[Clare Sanders]

Another Great Read by Patricia MacDonald I enjoy reading her books.

[Margaret Barbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Unforgiven by Patricia MacDonald.

A full on, fast moving read, that will keep you unable to put down. I really enjoyed enjoyed it, and wanted to read more of the characters.

[Margaret Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely great storyline and truly fantastic read again from Patricia MacDonald.