A novel inspired by a baffling true-life crime, Judith Guest's "finely tuned page-turner" (Publishers Weekly) melds heart-pounding suspen... read full description
reviews
Jul 05, 2011
Barbara
rated it: 
Judith Guest's Ordinary People is familiar to many, both as the book and the award-winning film. She clearly demonstrated sensitivity to family dynamics and to the desires and needs of individual adults and their offspring. This talent was again evinced in this mystery/ suspense novel. It is remarkable because she was able to integrate the story of the horrifying murder of a family of six with their psychosocial components and the process of the police procedural.
The similarity between th More...
The similarity between th More...
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Mar 28, 2010
Heather
rated it: 
Judith Guest is probably best known for her novel Ordinary People, which was turned into an award-winning motion picture. In her book The Tarnished Eye, Guest gives us a completely different kind of story, but with the same intuitiveness about why people do the things they do.
The novel is based on the true story of a murder that happened in Northern Michigan. In the fictionalized version, a family of six, the Norbois family, is brutally murdered while at their vacation home i More...
The novel is based on the true story of a murder that happened in Northern Michigan. In the fictionalized version, a family of six, the Norbois family, is brutally murdered while at their vacation home i More...
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May 07, 2009
Mark
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A family of six is brutally murdered and the bodies are not discovered for three weeks. The investigation is led by the local small-town Michigan sheriff. He tries to enlist the aid of his friend, a big-city police chief, but the friend is dealing with his own high-profile case, that of a serial killer that is targeting U of M co-eds. Supposedly inspired by a true, unsolved mystery, Ms Guest does a good job of throwing in several red herrings before the final reveal. Lacking, however, was a reas
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Jan 13, 2012
Mary
rated it: 
Loosely based on the 1968 murder of a family of six where the killer closed the drapes, locked the doors and just walked away, the community of Blessed, Michigan is shattered by the murder of the Norbois family. The questions and secrets swirl around this case and the clues and revelations come thick and fast for the police. I liked this book very much and give it an A+!
Sep 07, 2011
lynn
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Read this fictional account of a true story: an unsolved murder in a small vacation town in northern Michigan. The authoir stuck to the majority of the evidence while applying her own theory of who may have committed this brutal crime. A typical summer read type of style.
Mar 03, 2010
Mightymite
rated it:
I really wish Judith Guest wrote more books. This mystery was outstanding. I don't want to give any of it away, except to say it is a very interesting study of serial murders versus multiple murders as it juxtaposes those situations. Highly recommend.
Jul 30, 2010
Rebekkila
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This book was a quick read. The story was very intriguing considering this was based on a real life cold case file. The end came very quickly, almost as if the author didn''t know what to do with all the story lines and just ended it quickly
Oct 17, 2010
Marla
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This is from the author of Ordinary People. I didn't find this book "gripping" or all that suspenseful, but entertaining all the same.
Jan 13, 2012
Lorna
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Loved this murder mystery about a family of six that is murdered and how it ties in with young women in a nearby town who are being raped and murdered.
Sep 26, 2009
Alisa
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Very strange story but I wanted to keep reading to find out what was next...
Oct 05, 2007
Ellen
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Beach read. Characters are not well defined. Sappy in places. It is a murder mystery and follows the typical timeline for this type of book (intro detective with some personal flaw/problem/unfortunate life event, horrible crime, attempt to find killer, twists, solve, detective as hero, detective fixes aspect of personal life, the end.) But as this type of book goes, not a bad read.
Dec 21, 2007
Danielle
rated it: 
A huge disappointment. Judith Guest wrote two of my all time favorite books (Ordinary People and Second Heaven) and I really expected more from this. It's a completely run-of-the-mill crime thriller (a genre I generally avoid) with very little character development, despite early promise in the troubled police chief.
Jan 07, 2008
Lisa
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This novel is riveting. It's a murder mystery based on a true story; it's by the author of 'Ordinary People.' I think I read this in about 5 hours and couldn't put it down. Books rarely snare me like that anymore. I highly suggest this one.
Oct 31, 2008
Kristi
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Darn mystery books. Good up until the author decides for the investigator to figure 'who done it' but without any clues for us to go on. Good story up until that point. Would make an excellent Lifetime movie.
May 27, 2009
Susan
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I was disappointed. I read about half of it, but found myself wishing I was finished or had never started. I don't force myself to finish books because there are so many great books out there.
Aug 29, 2007
Barb
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Based on an unsolved homicide that took place in Michigan in 1968. Lots of stock characters, troubled pasts, makes the book seem like one you may have read before.
A good read
A good read
Jul 26, 2009
Marsha
rated it:
Two sets of multiple murders plague Sheriff HUGH DEWITT as he finds links between them in this moody story which takes place in Michigan. It was not as engrossing as I had hoped.
Jan 19, 2008
The "true-life crime" that this book is loosely based on is actually the murder of my grandmother's cousin's family. To this day, the murder still remains unsolved.
Oct 29, 2008
Mom
rated it:
I loved this book. Took a few pages to hook me but then I
couldn't put it down. Dandy murder mystery with likeable characters and some nice writing.
couldn't put it down. Dandy murder mystery with likeable characters and some nice writing.
Mar 31, 2008
Allison
rated it:
A pretty run-of-the-mill beach read - no remarkable character development. A quick adventure down mystery lane.
Aug 14, 2007
Sara
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By the author of _Ordinary People_. The novel takes place in Ann Arbor, MI and is loosely based on real events.
Feb 14, 2012
