Crime Story

by Gee M

A novel by an award-winning New Zealand author which spans politics and high finance, and asks questions about the perpetrators and victims of crime, and about the price of greed and personal isolation. It features a confrontation between a petty thief and the wife of a wealthy property-owner.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, 20th Century

Paperback

First published April 29, 2002

Reviews

[Christelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise reminds me of Crime and Pushiment. A young man, while conducting a burglary, pushes a woman and breaks her neck. Needless to say that this incident has repercussions on both the victim's family and the murderer's family. It is an interesting exploration of humans and it forces the North American reader to let go of the romantic idea it has of New Zealand. There are absolutely no mention of the breathtaking scenery of NZ. It is actually the opposite. The book is about the typical trials of any human being: greed, rejection, murder, politics as well as one's hopes and forgiveness. Life can be tough. Imagine being paralysed from the neck down... would you call that a life?

[Chelsea Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monthly reading challenge: A book that came out while you were at high school.

This multi POV story, follows the lives of the criminal the victim and their families following a burglary that goes wrong and leaves a woman permanently injured.

I started off not really enjoying this book, by the end I

[Dead John Williams]

Supposedly a New Zealand classic but more of that cinema of unease stuff that I cannot bear, no offence Mr Gee but not for me. It requires an emotional investment for nil return.

[Fiona R · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[zespri · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is so much going on in this book, it is hard to know what to think about first! The book starts with a robbery and act of violence that draws all the characters of this book together, and flaws and strengths are exposed as they come to terms with what has happened in their midst.

There wasn't really one character in this book that I remotely liked, and I found the book sad and heavy going in places. Good to be made to think about the issues though - domestic violence, murder, perpetrators and crime victims.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read but the pace of the book was somewhat uneven and the story just didn't seem to flow well. Some parts of the book seemed to rush along, while others dragged on laboriously and unnecessarily. The characters were thoroughly unlikeable, but intriguing. Gee confronts us with some uncomfortable issues in the book and undoubtedly intended to give the reader much to think about, but ultimately the book felt like it was a draft that needed more editing and refinement before being presented to readers.

[Shazzt]

Not my favorite Gee book- it seemed too unfocused and meandering. What I found most interesting was that although it was set in the late eighties, it felt quite modern with its failed companies and contrast between rich and poor.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me terribly uncomfortable as gee normally does! Characters all quite unlikeable but easy to have a deep empathy with them!