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The Murder Ballad
Stumbling headlong into a passionate fling and an impromptu marriage to music star Trey, Maeve's life is about to change beyond recognition. Trey wants to whisk her off to his country house in North Carolina and Maeve follows him without a backward glance.But when she first lays eyes on her new home -- a dilapidated old cabin in the middle of nowhere -- she begins to feel uneasy. Nothing quite matches up to what she's been led to expect and, below the surface, a dark secret lies buried that has never been resolved. Too late Maeve realizes that she is all alone in a strange country, sharing a life with a man she hardly knows...
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First published August 3, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 7, 2017
The final 40 pages of this novel are very good. Unfortunately you need to plough your way through the first 400 to get there ...
This isn't really a thriller. It would more accurately be described as a slow paced love story with a twist at the end. A recently bereaved London woman meets an American musician, falls in love and marries him. They move to his family home in the mountains of Appalachia. They both have insecurities and a difficult past. And there are hints of a mysterious secret in Trey Ferguson's family history.
The story finally comes to life with a few twists, most of which are telegraphed well in advance. But one almost makes this worth reading and the final resolution is dramatic.
This isn't really a thriller. It would more accurately be described as a slow paced love story with a twist at the end. A recently bereaved London woman meets an American musician, falls in love and marries him. They move to his family home in the mountains of Appalachia. They both have insecurities and a difficult past. And there are hints of a mysterious secret in Trey Ferguson's family history.
The story finally comes to life with a few twists, most of which are telegraphed well in advance. But one almost makes this worth reading and the final resolution is dramatic.
October 22, 2021
This is not the best book by far but its also not the worst. It took over 100 pages to get to the main storyline which I feel was a little slow and dragged out. (Readers want constant action and thrill rides not the everyday life of a boring woman...) it did have a good plot twist at the end but it's getting to the end that seems to be the problem. I did keep wanting to know what was so dodgy about her new musician husband, but other than that there was nothing really intriguing about this story and I definitely wouldn't call it a thriller at all (no offence to the author anyone who really likes this book) As an author myself, it takes a lot to get me intrigued in a novel and this just didn't do it for me. But I did manage to get to the end of a book so that was a win.
October 29, 2017
Well I had high hopes for this & I was certainly not disappointed - once I started it, I couldn't put it down. There's a sinister undercurrent to Maeve's new life & it becomes obvious that something terrible happened in Trey's past.The story twists & turns kept me guessing as to how the tragedy actually occurred & it kept me entertained to the very end.
February 16, 2021
The most un-thrilling thriller I’ve read in a long time. The ONLY good part in this book were the following lines:
I don’t know whether it actually made any difference. Logically speaking, it can have done. I don’t suppose God sits up in Heaven and thinks, ‘You know what? I wasn’t planning to bother about Maeve O’Mara, but since Helen asked me so nicely perhaps I will look after her, after all.’
I threw the book away when I finished. I was going to pass it along to a friend, but nobody should have to go thru that kind of torture.
I don’t know whether it actually made any difference. Logically speaking, it can have done. I don’t suppose God sits up in Heaven and thinks, ‘You know what? I wasn’t planning to bother about Maeve O’Mara, but since Helen asked me so nicely perhaps I will look after her, after all.’
I threw the book away when I finished. I was going to pass it along to a friend, but nobody should have to go thru that kind of torture.
November 9, 2021
I had read Jane Hill's 'Can't Let Go' and was keen for more, and this did not disappoint. It was equally well written with a great storyline and certainly held me right to the end. Ignore the bad reviews.
August 28, 2017
A simple read of a marriage to a man with secrets
September 28, 2016
Another take on the 'woman hastily marries a man she hardly knows, who has a hidden past' scenario (the last one I read was The Other Child ). I learnt a lot about Bluegrass and other types of music. The audio CD set I was listening to, (from the library), was quite damaged and tracks kept skipping, so the added mystery for me was to try and work out what had happened in the bits that I missed!
May 28, 2018
Strong female lead(Maeve O'Mara) and sweet awkward hero (Trey Ferguson).
This is your usual murder-jealous-pscho-bitch-story. I wasnt expecting the suspect to be "that person". I do crave twisted story near the ending, though the climax just started during the final chapters of the book.
The introduction gave way that Maeve knew 2 people that got murdered at the crime scene and she has wounds to prove it. So i got into thinking "Who could it be? Who the f could be the murderer? Aha it's you!..Nope, couldnt be." I just love the puzzlers!
While reading the book, there were so many possible suspects. It might be Maeve, might be Trey, might be Maeve's teenager friend. I dunno. Thats what had me sitting At the edge of my seat.
And this book gave me just that. Trey, the heroine's husband is so loveable! Oh my trey, i just want him to be happy forever. The dark past he had did torment their marriage and as a result, Maeve (the heroine) is anguished whether she chose the right thing. Well because they married each other just after 2 months of knowing each other, duh. But as she said "i'd grabbed at the first piece of happiness that had come my way, like a greedy, needy child".. (Because her 1st husband died and she was like mourning and then Trey came in the picture, instant chemistry and all.) you get my drift. Anyway,
I most certainly cannot put the book down when i started reading it.
Its like a survival book guide for married couples who have issues with themselves especially when your husband experienced 2 deaths in one day. (Both loved ones). So what does the heroine do? Go read the book! It'll be worth your time.
This is your usual murder-jealous-pscho-bitch-story. I wasnt expecting the suspect to be "that person". I do crave twisted story near the ending, though the climax just started during the final chapters of the book.
The introduction gave way that Maeve knew 2 people that got murdered at the crime scene and she has wounds to prove it. So i got into thinking "Who could it be? Who the f could be the murderer? Aha it's you!..Nope, couldnt be." I just love the puzzlers!
While reading the book, there were so many possible suspects. It might be Maeve, might be Trey, might be Maeve's teenager friend. I dunno. Thats what had me sitting At the edge of my seat.
And this book gave me just that. Trey, the heroine's husband is so loveable! Oh my trey, i just want him to be happy forever. The dark past he had did torment their marriage and as a result, Maeve (the heroine) is anguished whether she chose the right thing. Well because they married each other just after 2 months of knowing each other, duh. But as she said "i'd grabbed at the first piece of happiness that had come my way, like a greedy, needy child".. (Because her 1st husband died and she was like mourning and then Trey came in the picture, instant chemistry and all.) you get my drift. Anyway,
I most certainly cannot put the book down when i started reading it.
Its like a survival book guide for married couples who have issues with themselves especially when your husband experienced 2 deaths in one day. (Both loved ones). So what does the heroine do? Go read the book! It'll be worth your time.
January 9, 2011
Wasn't sure at first about modern London woman going to live in bible belt American small town with lots of dark secrets attaching to her new marriage. But the descriptions drew me in and the secrets weren't nearly as predictable as I'd imagined. Lots of twists and turns with modern-day shades of Daphne duMaurier's Rebecca in places. Enjoyed it and will look for more of her books.
January 28, 2008
A hard bok to get into at first but the more I read it the more I tried to figure out the secret boy was I wrong a real twist at the end.
February 7, 2011
Really enjoyed this one. A bit different as murder books go.
March 9, 2011
very interesting
May 4, 2011
Really good read wasn't what I was expecting but totally enjoyed this book.
Lots of twists and turns that wasn't expecting.
Lots of twists and turns that wasn't expecting.
August 6, 2013
Generic thriller set both in London and North Carolina, about a musician and his rather bizarre family history. Not a bad read, but to be honest...nothing special.
March 5, 2015
Fair - poor. US country singer - old family secret
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews