Thicker Than Water

by Anthea Fraser

An intriguing mystery from this popular author - James Markham jilts his fiance for a woman about whom he appears to know very little. Callum Firbank has always been evasive about his childhood, and his wife realises she knows little about her husbands upbringing or family. Jill Irving has everything she could wish for, but she, too, has secrets in her past. What links these three very different people, and who is the mysterious stranger whose appearance in their lives seems to cause such terror?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

251 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

aka Vanessa Graham

Reviews

[Kendrie Withers · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this novel was everything The Club wanted to be. Multiple POV whodunnit with a captivating story of how we're all tied together. I loved the way that Anthea Fraser was able to make all of the characters feel equally balanced and it genuinely felt like they were all important to the plot. I know with some multiple POV works, you can tell that some characters are more fleshed out than others, but that was not the case here.

The story was quick paced and I felt drawn in by the suspense of what would happen next. I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 because I think the first 3 chapters (Abby, Callum, and Jill) should have ended on a cliffhanger, and then allowed the chapters for Bryan to bring them all together. This is just my personal preference and of course I loved the story either way.

[Rebecca Mclaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So enjoy her writing

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not figure out where this book was going for a while but once you did you knew exactly what was going to happen
No twists too predictable

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook edition via Borrowbox. Enjoyable listen in the car.

[Susan Mock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twists

It did have twists, but not enough to be tiresome. I have like the Rona Parrish series, but this was not quite as good, but as I was supposed to be reading Mrs. Dalloway, it was a good distraction.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a mystery that breaks the usual formula. It starts with a series of short stories, each ending with a murder. How are they related? The answer is eventually revealed, but the book fell rather flat for me, probably because none of the characters in the first three stories, which take up a bit more than half the book, resonated with me. I started skipping around after that to just find out who done it. The last half develops characters you can believe in better and does have a bit of the more conventional sleuth trying to discover who did it, but since I didn't read it in the conventional manner, it is hard to say for sure.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect murders..........revenge based and impossible to trace. The book tells of three apparently unrelated people, murdered and then hanged by an unknown person. But are they unrelated or is there something in the past that connects them to this murderer? You betcha' and the author does a great job interweaving all the various levels of the story into a fascinating tale. The only gripe that I have is that I could have done without the afterword. I thought it diluted an otherwise intriguing story..........but overall, it was a dandy!!

[Valerie Campbell Ackroyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't call this an English cozy because parts of it are rather gory. I did find it compulsive enough reading that I gave up a dinner invite to finish it. The book jacket describes the plot--three separate people, each with a mystery in their past. I didn't realize that each character's story would be only a part of the book but by the end of the second, I began to understand. It's a clever device--reminds me of the old detective novel "Laura"--and I feel that the author handled it well. It did become a little flat in the last part but to explain why would spoil it.

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

A psychological thriller. Three novels in one with three very different protagonists. They all have secret pasts. When they each receive a postcard from the Lake District, they are terrified. Plot is brilliantly tied together at the end.
This is the first novel I've read by this author, but through a bit of research I've found she is quite prolific with two series and some 43 novels to her credit. Looks like I have some reading to do...

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was a murder mystery but of course after people starting dropping like flies I had to know the connection but truthfully it is hard for me to establish character settings and in this book you get to know several totally different characters before finally bringing it all together.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am definitely a fan of this author and really liked the way the story unfolded without the need for a detective or defacto sleuth.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read this author before, but I really liked this book. I see she also has a couple of book series, which I will check out at some point.

[Kristyh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perfunctory writing, cliched plot, two stars for interesting structure.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book which I really enjoyed very exciting with a twist in the tail.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting read

I enjoyed the many viewpoints the book spoke from. It kept me involved and eager to find out what happened next. I’ll look for more from Anthea Fraser!