Past Crimes

by Carol Matas

After the murder of her husband, 19-year-old Ros and her one-year-old son relocate to live with her parents. Palm Springs — full of sunlight, small and safe — should be the perfect place to bring up a child. But things aren't always as they appear.

When the father of one of Ros's friends is shot in front of her house — an incident that also lands Ros in the hospital — it marks the beginning of a terrible string of events. Someone is out to get her, and they seem determined not to stop until her friends and family are also drawn in. As she struggles to uncover the identity of her mysterious enemy, Ros finds herself looking for answers in the most unusual places.

In Past Crimes, bestselling author Carol Matas once again asks her readers to question their assumption about the world around them. Are we really capable of fully understanding the lives we lead, or do the things we fail to understand far outnumber those that we do? Growing out of her work in books like The Freak, Past Crimes offers an innovative twist on the mystery/thriller genre, and is a must-read for fans of Matas's work.

Genres: Young Adult

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Anna Dowdall · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a whiff of history, painful history, in this short book by Carol Matas, but the story of a youthful widow trying to live a quiet life in Palm Springs while figuring out why someone wants to kill her is more paranormal mystery than historical novel. After a happy childhood, Ros Green has had things to endure, for example the unsolved murder of her young husband. She’s had to grow up a bit but all she wants to do now is feel safe, finish university and try to make something of herself, for her own and her child's sake. In some ways, despite the loss of her husband, her life has been a privileged and protected one. She doesn't understand why all this has to change. But things unravel very quickly, as one after another people around her become targets, before the invisible menace takes aim at herself and her baby. The story is told in the first person and the author has given Ros an authentic voice. She’s an engaging protagonist. Notwithstanding a handsome young detective, it’s Ros’s courage and her need to understand that impel her forward and drive the plot. Unsurprisingly, she solves the mystery, while simultaneously growing up quite a bit more. You can take or leave the details of the paranormal theme, if past life therapists, for example, aren’t your thing. The dream-sequence flashbacks to a distant past are unnervingly vivid and the time shifts skilfully handled, providing resonance and depth. The antagonist might be slightly too melodramatic for some readers. But there’s a parable of contagious cruelty in all this unleashed malevolence and the central lesson served up by this individual is well captured in an abduction note left at the airport: "helplessness, humiliation, then humility." This is a book that you can read in one sitting, with its novella length and uncomplicated whodunit plot. But in Past Crimes Carol Matas also gives us more: in a world where past and present blend, her characters must learn to confront and struggle against cruelty and intolerance, which return like bad dreams and take many forms.

[Kepi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fast read. Interesting story. Didn't love the conclusion but not sorry I spent time reading it.

[Dani 🌙 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wish I could give this a higher rating, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it. The characters were flat, the writing simplistic, and I guessed the culprit in the first scene they were introduced.