Bright Rooms

by Jenny Maxwell

The apparent suicide of a teenage girl throws her family into chaos, particularly when it is discovered she is pregnant and the police reveal that her death could have been caused by somebody else..
Celia has never been the most diligent of aunts. Even when her brother died she didn't pay very much attention to her niece, Tamsin, and now it is too late. Tamsin is dead, found hanged in woodland near her home and leaving behind an enigma about her passing.
Devastated by her death and ridden with guilt by her own neglect, Celia is determined to discover what would have caused her to take her own life. Then she learns that Tamsin was pregnant, but everything she is told by Tamsin's mother and her schoolfriends indicates that the teenager's reputation was the complete opposite to being promiscuous, yet the forensic evidence establishes that she was sexually 'mature'. Even more determined to get at the truth, Celia gradually reveals a side of Tamsin's life which no-one had known or guessed at, and she begins to believe that someone else was involved with her death. Engrossing, moving and chilling, this is a heart-rending novel of psychological suspense.

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my style of writing, very repetitive

[Christianne Rival · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much introspection. No action. Hated the main character

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Jenny Maxwell's first two books ages ago, found them memorable, different and entertaining. The main character of this I found unpleasant (although was uncertain whether she was meant to be so - others might approve of her interfering nature). Her ability to solve a murder via clues supplied by dreaming of the ghost of the murdered girl was unconvincing and there was a hint of an underlying topic she wanted to expound.