Misfortune

by Nancy Geary

"A recluse on Long Island's humbler North Fork, Suffolk County star prosecutor Frances Pratt returns home to Southampton and her dying father. What she finds are friends and family guarding closely held secrets and an overprivileged community unwilling to admit anyone but their own. Though a shrewd and skillful lawyer, she is utterly unprepared for what comes next. In the marbled powder room of the "old money" Fair Lawn Country Club lies the murdered body of her own stepmother, Clio Henshaw Pratt." "Frances takes on the investigation and soon unearths more than a few people who had hated Clio with enough force and venom to murder her. Her sights fix on the respected African-American heart surgeon smarting from Clio's prejudice ... the long-faithful partner frozen out of the family investment firm ... the highborn idealist whose vision of the Fair Lawn Country Club's future left no room for Clio's snobbery ... the dissolute socialite who feared what Clio knew about her husband's suicide ... and even somebody closer to Frances than she had ever imagined." "As Frances begins to look beneath the gilded surface of Southampton, she delves into a world of crumbling pretenses, cruel prejudices, and the terrible burdens people bear to "keep up appearances." Ultimately, she discovers that she, as well as everyone in her family, has a facade. And as she searches for Clio's killer, Frances Pratt will have to face the demons that stand behind them all."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Nora|KnyguDama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nežinau kodėl, neklauskit, Kauno mugėj negalėjau praeit pro šią knygą. Ji gulėjo krūvoj senų knygų, kainavo du eurus ir grįžo su manim namo. Turėjau nuojautą, kad čia bus labai paprastas, vasariškas, kiek senovinis detektyvas, toks old schoolinis, kokius vasarą mėgstu paskaitinėti. Neklydau - visiškas Jackie Collins vibe'as, turtingi turtuolių gyvenimėliai, didelės ir mažos problemos maskuojamos šampanu ir dizainerių drabužiais bei žmogžudystė, nuimanti visas dailaus fasado kaukes.

Frensė augo turtingoje šeimoje, kurioje turėjo vaidinti laimę. Išsiskyrus tėvams, nei ji, nei jos sesuo laimingos nebuvo - pamotė Klaja su jomis elgėsi negražiai, tačiau tėvas ją mylėjo ir mergaitės tylėjo. Dabar, abi jau sukūrusios savo gyvenimus, tėvas serga sudėtinga liga, o Klaja į savo rankas paėmusi visus didleių pinigų ir verslo reikalus. Turtingoje jų gyvenvietėje Klajos niekas nemėgsta - vieni dėl jos asmenybės, elgesio, kiti - dėl darbo reikalų ar praeities. Tad kai Klaja randama nužudyta, įtariamųjų sąrašas vis ilgėja ir ilgėja. Frensė pati imasi aiškintis pamotės mirties mįslę.

Čia tikrai nėra aukšto lygio detektyvas, nei romanas čia tas, kuris palies širdį. Ši knyga - absoliučiai lengvas, neįpareigojantis skaitinys, primenantis melodramą, kurią viena akim žiūrit, o kita scrollinat. Labai labai lengvas reikalas Elin Hilderbrand kūrybos gerbėjams. Ir man labai patiko arba labai laiku ir vietoj pasiėmiau tai, ko man reikėjo. Be meilių seilių, o ištisinė drama ir dar žmogžudystė dovanų :D Toks paplūdimio skaitinys. Tyrimas čia silpnas, motyvas irgi toks keistas, bet kuriama turtuolių intrigų atmosfera, mano santa barbarišką širdies dalį, pilnai patenkino. Tiesa, skaitytojai negalintys skaityt prastų vertimų - venkit šios knygos. Na, labai labai labai jau nepersistengta čia. Absoliučiai pažodinis vertimas, su pažodžiui išverstais pasakymais, kurie bendram kontekste netinka ar net kvailai skamba. Bet nu ir nevaidinsiu aš čia literatės ir nemeluosiu - su visom kliurkom, bet perskaičiau su malonumu, nes vasarą man reikia bent kelių telenovelių knygų pavidalu.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A entertaining enough read.

[Andrea Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

One not so nice lady that gets her compupence.. or is it misfortune?
Plenty of suspects , spent a long time building the characters but keeps you interested enough to fins out the truth which is worth it ...

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for book group, rated it a 6 out of 10. It’s a whodunnit which keeps you guessing, but there is not much character development. Not a particularly appealing main character.

[Maurean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this one as much as I had hoped that I would. While the storyline was a good concept, this was very drawn out, and too tedious for my particular taste. I think Geary *could* have a great writing style, as her descriptions are vivid, and her characterizations thorough, I just didn't have any draw towards any of the people portrayed. Overall, it was an alright way to pass a few hours reading time. I would probably read future works by Geary, I just won't go out of my way to hunt them down.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice book indeed. It first started with making introductions to a lot of the characters. Later on you understand why this is done so detailed, but while reading you just sometimes want the story to kind of get started. Once it gets started, it's clear why so many characters are part of the book; it's just to give you no idea of who did what... It's good written, gripping and you really want to get to the end and know whod did it (and the outcome did come as a surprise to me). Very nice book indeed and I might read an other one from this auther if I run into it.

[Jackie Simons]

Read 9/01

[Echo Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh...

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just OK; The Hamptons; Blue Bloods, Mystery

[Pauline]

I own this book.