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Alys, Always

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 928 ratings · 262 reviews

A SUSPENSEFUL, ASSURED L ITERARY DEBUT THAT EXPLORES THE DARK SIDE OF DESIRE AND AMBITION THROUGH ONE WOMAN’ S UNLIKELY ENTRY INTO A N ELITE WORLD AND A DESTINY OF HER OWN DESIGN ON A BITTER WINTER’ S NIGHT, Frances Thorpe comes upon the aftermath of a car crash and, while comforting the dying driver, Alys Kyte, hears her final words. The wife of a celebrated novelist, Aly...more

Hardcover, 211 pages

Published June 12th 2012 by Scribner (first published February 1st 2012)

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May 22, 2013 Carla Hund rated it 3 of 5 stars

After reading the editorial reviews for Alys, Always I was expecting a taut and riveting read. While it has some intense moments-especially the opening chapter-Alys, Always never quite lives up to its billing. The story is about Frances Thorpe, a young editorial assistant (Frances refers to herself as a "sub editor-an invisible production drone") in the books department at a London magazine, the Questioner. One evening while driving in the London countryside, Frances comes across a serious car c...more After reading the editorial reviews for Alys, Always I was expecting a taut and riveting read. While it has some intense moments-especially the opening chapter-Alys, Always never quite lives up to its billing. The story is about Frances Thorpe, a young editorial assistant (Frances refers to herself as a "sub editor-an invisible production drone") in the books department at a London magazine, the Questioner. One evening while driving in the London countryside, Frances comes across a serious car crash. Although Frances cannot see anyone in the overturned car, she hears the voice of a woman and Frances talks to her, staying until help arrives. The next day the police contact Frances to review her statement about what happened at the crash site, and Frances learns that the woman in the car, Alys Kyte, has died. Although initially denying Alys's family's request to meet with her, Frances changes her mind once she learns that Alys was the wife of celebrated London novelist Laurence Kyte. At her meeting with the Kyte's, Frances embellishes the conversation she had with Alys in her dying moments ("Tell them I love them" Frances falsely claims were Alys's last words) and begins a friendship with Alys's college-aged daughter Polly. Frances uses Polly's grief over her mothers death to ingrate herself with Laurence and his dazzling world of literary high society-people Frances has previously only known through print. Frances is clearly obsessed with Laurence and his lifestyle, and her behavior becomes increasingly erratic in a quest to get closer to Laurence. Polly's older brother Teddy eventually confronts Frances with the "inconsistencies" between the statement Frances gave to the police after the crash and what she told the Kyte's at their initial meeting, but Frances tells Teddy she only added Alys's "Tell them I love them" words to comfort her family. At this point, Alys, Always could become the psychological thriller it was meant to be, but the story losses momentum as Frances and Laurence become romantically involved. None of the characters have the emotional depth needed to carry the story, and the ending is disappointing. Author Harriet Lane's debut novel is sort of a "Fatal Attraction Lite," but it had the potential to be much more.(less)

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Feb 20, 2012 Blair rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, read-on-kindle, favourites, 2012-release

Alys, Always, the first novel by Harriet Lane, has received rather a lot of press, and all of it - without exception, as far as I'm aware - has been positive. Given that the author is a former journalist who has written for most of the British broadsheets, this isn't so surprising. But a few things about the book grabbed my attention anyway: the beautiful cover, the promise of a story set amidst the London literary scene, the comparisons to Zoe Heller's masterful Notes On a Scandal.

Frances Thorp...more Alys, Always, the first novel by Harriet Lane, has received rather a lot of press, and all of it - without exception, as far as I'm aware - has been positive. Given that the author is a former journalist who has written for most of the British broadsheets, this isn't so surprising. But a few things about the book grabbed my attention anyway: the beautiful cover, the promise of a story set amidst the London literary scene, the comparisons to Zoe Heller's masterful Notes On a Scandal.

Frances Thorpe is a struggling journalist who is driving home one night when she sees an overturned car by the side of the road. She rushes to help, and has a short conversation with the woman trapped inside the car, who then lapses into unconsciousness just as an ambulance arrives. Later, Frances learns that the woman, Alys Kyte, died just minutes later. When Frances is asked to visit the Kyte family to talk about Alys's last words, her natural impulse is do what's necessary and escape as quickly as possible - until she realises that Alys was the wife of a celebrated, Booker-winning author, Laurence Kyte. Partly by chance and partly by design, she starts an unconventional friendship with the Kytes' 19-year-old daughter Polly, and soon sees an opportunity to ingratiate herself with the family and to better herself, both personally and professionally.

It's only since I've begun writing this review that I've recognised the similarities between this book and one of my very favourite reads from last year - Gillespie and I by Jane Harris. Much like Gillespie and I's Harriet Baxter, Frances is a single woman with a rather empty life - though her age is never actually revealed, it's implied that she is in her mid-thirties, and she spends her days toiling away as a sub-editor on a left-of-centre newspaper, the Questioner. She has few friends, an awkward and distant relationship with her parents, and is often treated as a dogsbody by her boss. However, she is not simply a lonely person craving any sort of human interaction: faced with potential interest from a scruffily dressed, but nevertheless attractive and available, male colleague at a party in his shabby flat, she baulks and flees. Rather, Frances fancies herself as something of a social climber, and as she begins to realise how far her association with the Kytes could take her, her determination and ambition grow - along with her deviousness.

At numerous points, Frances is asked: 'where did you come from?' The words are spoken both as an accusation and an endearment. This book - Frances's story - is the answer to that question. With the pace and lucidity of a thriller, Lane shows us how quickly Frances is seduced by the Kytes' lifestyle - not just the privilege and status, the adoring acolytes and luxurious homes, but how easy and expected it all is. The simplest observations of the family's everyday routines illustrate with great clarity how unassumingly blessed they are, and this is a state Frances becomes increasingly desperate to achieve. The reader, too, is beguiled by this coveted lifestyle: at so many points I just wanted to jump into the book, to live inside it. In this it reminded me of another great, and similarly evocative, read from last year - The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly. But where Kelly's novel was ruined by a daft, schlocky ending, Lane's boasts a conclusion that is dark, delicious, and absolutely perfect. Frances is a brilliant creation, by turns sympathetic and terrifying, but always so believable that you forget you're reading fiction.

Engrossing to the point of being absolutely addictive, this is one of those books that makes you feel you've fallen into a different world: after I'd devoured it within less than 24 hours, I looked up from it dazed and a little bit lost. In this review, I have defined it mainly through comparisons to other books, but it is a wonderful novel in its own right. I have a penchant for debut fiction, and am often drawn to first novels, but even so, this really is a stunning effort. I loved the story, loved the style and found myself thoroughly under the spell of Frances and the Kyte family. Harriet Lane, you have a fan for life!(less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This book is exceptional. "Alys, Always" kept me guessing right up until the end. Frances Thorpe, subeditor for the books section, lives an unexceptional life and is easy to overlook. Then Frances witnesses the final moments of Alys Kyte, wife of a celebrated novelist, and everything changes.

Frances is asked to meet with the grieving family, and is drawn into their world. Alys and Laurence's daughter Polly, a glamorous yet flaky drama student, is Frances' way of getting a foot in the door - by a...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-books, on-my-ipad

This slow burning domestic drama about a sparrow of a woman trying to pass herself off as a peacock reminded me favorably of Ruth Rendell's later work. I admired the author's ability to convey just enough detail about the privileged and luxurious family the protagonist is attempting to gain entrance to through nefarious means. A wonderfully insidious thriller for folks who think they don't like thrillers.

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May 12, 2013 Sarah Smith rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From the cover and all the little recommendations from various magazines and other authors I was expecting this to be a thriller. It was not thrilling. It wasn't a bad story by any means, it was actually fairly enjoyable but it just wasn't marketed quite right.

It's about a woman, Frances who stumbles upon a car accident on her way home one evening and how this encounter changes her life from a stagnant career as a book editor for a newspaper to a world of elite literary types and how she wriggle...more

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May 12, 2013 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alys, Always was a book that I picked up by chance from the library, simply because it looked intriguing - I had no idea what to expect.

The story begins on a dark wintry Sunday evening as Frances Thorpe is returning to London after visiting her parents, and stumbles across a recent car crash. She cannot see inside the badly damaged vehicle, but calls the emergency services and sits chatting to the lady, Alys Kyte, who is dying within the wreck.

Afterwards, she is contacted by the police family...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Damaskcat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frances is driving back to London from a weekend with her parents in Suffolk on an icy wintry evening when she sees a car off the road. She finds Alys seriously injured and waits with her until the police and ambulance arrive. Frances lives alone and works as a sub editor mainly dealing with book reviews. She enjoys her job but is conscious she is drifting through life. Gradually she becomes involved with Alys’s family and her life changes.

This is a strange book with an unreliable narrator. We n...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Lisa Jacobs rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved the slow reveal of Frances' character. Although she feels quite different from her mother and catalogues her mother's controlling behaviour manifested in obsessive cleaning and regimental meal-making, Frances is just as controlled. Maybe as a product of the time we are living in or perhaps as a reaction to it. In any case, she lives her life in a totally controlled way. She says nothing without thinking it through totally (except once which she later has to explain) and plans her behaviors...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Glassworks Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review: Alys, Always

Reviewed by Cherita Harrell

In Harriet Lane’s debut novel Alys, Always, the reader is introduced to the narrator Frances Thorpe—a thirty something copy editor for a failing London magazine who stumbles on a car accident one night when returning home from visiting her parents. Frances’s actions in the beginning of the novel mimic those of an innocent do-gooder—a person who stops at the sight of an accident, and discovers a victim hidden by the darkness, buried beneath the crush...more Review: Alys, Always

Reviewed by Cherita Harrell

In Harriet Lane’s debut novel Alys, Always, the reader is introduced to the narrator Frances Thorpe—a thirty something copy editor for a failing London magazine who stumbles on a car accident one night when returning home from visiting her parents. Frances’s actions in the beginning of the novel mimic those of an innocent do-gooder—a person who stops at the sight of an accident, and discovers a victim hidden by the darkness, buried beneath the crushed metal of her vehicle. Frances attempts to comfort the victim, who later introduces herself as Alys, while waiting on the ambulance to arrive. Frances is unaware of Alys’s injuries, and sits with her during her final moments of life—unable to do anything to save her. After Alys dies, Frances returns to her home, haunted by the woman’s death. Once home she takes stock of her surroundings and comments, “You’re not so badly off, are you?” convincing herself that her basic needs have been fulfilled.

The narrator’s actions at the beginning of the story are deeply misleading. Frances is not a genuine, compassionate person, or a Mother Teresa type. She isn’t flooded with feelings of humility and selflessness. Instead, Frances is methodical, cunning, and as the layers of her persona are peeled away, the reader is made aware of her true nature. Frances loathes her mundane life, and she struggles to find an opportunity to sever herself from the reality of her abysmal existence.

After the accident, Frances is pressured by the police to speak with Alys’s surviving family in an attempt to offer them some form of solace. Initially, she is uninterested in participating in the meeting—as she is unaware of how it will prove to be productive for her. It isn’t until Frances discovers that Alys was the wife of Laurence Kyte, a well-known British writer, that she changes her mind and becomes motivated to meet with the family. During the meeting, Frances lies to the family about Alys’s last words, and uses this deceit to agitate their vulnerable emotions. Frances portrays herself as a confidante for Alys in the moments before her death—giving the illusion that the two connected—and attempts to cultivate a bond with the family. It is at this point in the novel that the reader begins to notice the negative aspects of Frances’s personality, and it becomes clear that Frances is anything but innocent.

After meeting the family, Frances decides to attend Alys’s memorial service, and uses her newfound link with the Kyte family to bolster her status at work. By exploiting their developing relationship, Frances catches the attention of her boss who is not only interested in Kyte’s recent novel, but is also intrigued by Frances’s intimate knowledge of the family. By pretending to be a long time acquaintance—Frances positions herself as a social asset to the magazine, and receives a taste of how her life will improve through her affiliation with the Kyte family.

Lane uses the character of Frances to expose the magnetism of social elevation. This isn’t a particularly complex notion—as many stories have been written detailing how the less fortunate, or socially inept, have clawed and connived in hopes of gaining the livelihood of those for whom they are envious. However, what makes Lane’s story fascinating is how Frances sets out to infiltrate the lives of the Kytes. As Frances struggles to maintain her connection with the Kyte family, she uses the grief and vulnerability of Laurence Kyte’s daughter, to manipulate her, and successfully forges a friendship with the twenty something woman. This unlikely union is the first intimation of how deeply Frances is willing to submerge herself into Kyte’s lives, and highlights the parallel between the characters of Frances and Polly, by revealing how each woman deals with their hidden desires.

The friendship between Frances and Polly provides an interesting layer to Lane’s story—as Polly is surrounded by fortune, and able to achieve whatever she wants. She is the epitome of a spoiled rich girl, a young woman whom uses her father’s affections for her benefit. As Frances observes the ways in which Polly abuses the opportunities made available to her by her father’s status, and money, we witness the contrast between a person who is controlled by fleeting desires, and a person who uses their ambitions as a method to dominate others. Lane focuses her story around Frances’s mission to improve her social status, and uses this as a means to expose the consequences of a person motivated by selfishness. By doing this, she provides the readers with an elaborate tale of greed, and outlines the potential dangers that arise when we prevent someone from getting what they want.

As the story further develops it becomes evident that Frances does not simply hope to gain a piece of the Kyte lifestyle; instead she plots to become a permanent fixture. Frances’s persistence in breeching the family’s inner circle is what heightens the suspense of the story—as the reader watches her vacillate between having her agenda exposed, and attempting to fill the void Alys left behind in her untimely death.

The imagery Lane incorporates in her writing speaks to the contrasting elements present in both Frances’s life, and the Kyte's lives. As Frances trails from the shadows of her world and into a circle dominated by money and power, Lane uses the setting to further connect the reader with the disaster that is Frances’s uninspiring life. At one point in the novel, Polly visits Frances’s after she is too drunk to return home. Frances surveys her home before Polly arrives, and notes the “dispiriting mess: the drifts of old newspapers, the undercoated shelves, the Rothko print in a clip-frame propped by the radiator” as well as the mismatched furniture that litters her home. Lane uses Frances’s belongings to reveal the depths of her normalcy, and provide the reader with an understanding of why she is desperate to elevate herself socially, and why she is specifically drawn to the Kyte’s rich and fruitful lifestyle.

As Frances attempts to solidify her connection with Polly and her family, she uses her visits to their vacation home to fuel her fantasy, and wonders how her life would be if she were Alys. Frances roams through Alys’s home, surveying her surroundings, and wondering what it would mean if all of Alys’s belongings were hers. Lane writes, “Just for a moment, as I stand by the sink peeling a long rosy spiral from the yellow flesh of an apple, I think about all of this and what it means to me”, revealing that Frances not only wants to embody Alys—her end game is to steal her life.

Alys, Always published by Scribner is a quick read—only 224 pages. However, this is not to suggest that Lane’s story lacks any substance. Alys, Always explores the irresistible temptation of ambition—how it corrupts absolutely—and it adeptly explores the dark corners of the human psyche.(less)

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Sep 15, 2012 Helena Halme rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alys, Always tells the story of Frances whose unhappy and dull life as a sub-editor of a literary magazine changes when, on a cold winter's night, she happens upon the aftermath of a car crash. What follows is a modern story of one woman's quest to better her situation, yet this is also a chillingly familiar - and depressingly common - tale.

The first person narrative adds a psychological thriller-like quality to Lane's writing; the readers is never quite sure what is going to happen next, nor wh...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Cindy Levy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Is someone in your life, someone you barely notice, pulling strings that make you jump? Frances Thorpe is such a person, though she may never have realized this "talent" if fate had not intervened.

Arriving at the scene of a single car accident in a desolate area on a wintery night, Frances consoles the lone, injured female driver until help arrives. Frances later discovers the victim has died, and was the wife of a well know author. Initially Frances simply regrets the loss of this wife and mot...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Littlebluebottle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked it because it was set in the UK, and I love reading English fiction, since it always associates with good memories. This was un-putdownable, and I spent many of my spare moments musing about the protagonist. For all her dowdy unobstrusiveness, she turns out to be the most conniving person ultimately, however unintentional it might have genuinely been at the start. She bided her time, and things panned out in her favour in the end, unlikely as it seemed it would. The way that she entrenc...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Andrew rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Charlotte Black drops back to join me. She’s one of those rare women who looks as pulled together off duty as she does in more formal circumstances. I have to admire her slim-fitting, dark cotton dress and flat, plain sandals and the few adroit bits of silver. “Are you having a good holiday?” she asks as we pause to let two teenagers drag a dinghy over the road, up towards a boatshed.

“Oh, yes. I didn’t really have any plans, and then Polly asked me down, and I’ve never quite got around to leavin...more Charlotte Black drops back to join me. She’s one of those rare women who looks as pulled together off duty as she does in more formal circumstances. I have to admire her slim-fitting, dark cotton dress and flat, plain sandals and the few adroit bits of silver. “Are you having a good holiday?” she asks as we pause to let two teenagers drag a dinghy over the road, up towards a boatshed.

“Oh, yes. I didn’t really have any plans, and then Polly asked me down, and I’ve never quite got around to leaving,” I say with a laugh.

“Yes, it seems you’ve really become part of the family.” Something in her voice reminds me, as if I needed reminding, that I shouldn’t underestimate Charlotte Black. “What an unusual way to get to know the Kytes.”

***

Harriet Lane’s debut novel, Alys, Always opens with a young woman, Frances Thorpe, driving on an icy road in northern England, when she happens upon the aftermath of a single-car accident. The driver, Alys Kyte, wife of the famous novelist Laurence Kyte, has only moments to live. It is Frances, lonely assistant editor for the Questioner’s books section, who is present for Alys’s final words, which unexpectedly provide her with an entryway into the lives of the London book industry’s upper crust—and through them, their faults, their secrets, and their infidelities.

Alys, Always is a deceptively narrow story. Alys’s death, the event which sets in motion the entire narrative, is treated as if it is nothing more than a minor detail—a plot device to place Frances in the sights of people she at first seems to dislike or feel impatient towards, but later comes to respect and, to some uncertain degree, love.

I say uncertain because Frances’s character is distractingly uneven. From her somewhat humble beginnings as a journalistic benchwarmer, Frances’s internal monologue is, at first, bitter and full of spite towards her contemporaries; there is an air of frustration about her as she simultaneously decries the perceived ambitions and posturing of others, yet willfully adopts such tactics herself when given the opportunity to rub shoulders with Alys’s family—to get to know them on a more intimate level. What begins as a supposed desire to give closure to her family following Alys’s death quickly spirals into a strange obsession with this semi-elite gathering of spoiled-by-life adults.

Alys, Always reads at times like the soft-spoken British cousin to Stephen King’s Misery. There’s a bit of Annie Wilkes in Frances Thorpe (minus the punishing, murderous intent). The speed at which Frances transitions from comforting presence and minor family friend to a talisman-stealing, pseudo-replacement for Alys is alarming and without satisfactory set-up; though Frances’s ambitions are referenced in the book’s twilight, never do her actions feel so deliberate, so calculated as to be attributed to ambition or upward career mobility. Instead, she regrettably comes across as a lost soul who has managed to fumble her way into a position of some influence, with a family that appears, on the outside, to need her and value what she has to say more than her own family, or her employers.

With its titular character little more than a footnote to an unfortunately two-dimensional story, Alys, Always is unable to rise beyond its rather straightforward premise. Frances Thorpe is an unpredictable lead, vacillating between timid, friendly, manipulative, and desperate, with little to no reason given for the changes her character sees. Alys, Always feels less like a novel and more like a draft for a screenplay, its characters static and incomplete.(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 claudio pagani rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Testimone di un tragico incidente d'auto, Frances incontra la famiglia della vittima, entrando in confidenza con la giovane figlia Polly e in seguito con l'ex marito Laurence, uno scrittore di successo. Per Frances, editor di una rivista letteraria, e' l'occasione per uscire dall'anonimato ed abbracciare l'alta societa' Londinese.

Ho scelto questo libro perche' me l'ha raccomandato Amazon e dopo averne letto ottime reviews. Ebbene, le reviews si sono rivelate esagerate, cosi' come il rating di Am...more

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Apr 17, 2012 David Hebblethwaite rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Life is not particularly going anywhere for Frances Thorpe – a sub-editor on the literary desk of a London newspaper – until she’s driving home one day after visiting her parents, and comes across a crashed car. She calls the emergency services, but the woman in the car dies at the scene; Frances bears the incident no more mind until she discovers that the dead woman, Alys, was married to a celebrated novelist, Laurence Kyte. When the opportunity arises for Frances (as the last person to be with...more

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Jan 02, 2012 CuteBadger rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In this first novel, a female newspaper sub-editor finds a car after a terrible accident and stays with the dying driver. The victim Alys’s family later get in touch and Frances becomes involved in their lives.

This is quite a short novel which starts off going in one direction and then seems to take a sharp left turn into a different kind of book completely. The first section, concerning Frances’ near-monastic life, reminded me of Anita Brookner’s novels, where isolated single women try to come...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Jan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Francis Thorpe's life is as boring and dull as her job as a sub editor at a London newspaper. All that changes as she drives home from her parents house one stormy night. She sees a car that has gone off the road. A woman is trapped inside. She can't see her but talks to her while waiting for the police and ambulance. The woman, who dies later, is Alys Kyte, wife of a famous author, Laurence Kyte. Since she is the last person to see her alive, Alys' family wishes to meet with her. Francis goes t...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Alecia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frances has an unspectactular job as a subeditor, or as she puts it,"an invisible production drone". One rainy night, she comes upon the aftermath of a car crash and comforts the dying passenger, Alys Kyte. Frances agrees to see the bereaved family to offer them a few words of comfort, as she was the last to see their mother/wife alive. When she notices the rarified world the family lives in, privileged and wealthy, she starts to cultivate a friendship with the daughter, Polly. The reader sees F...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Leah Iannone rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm giving this book 3 stars. I feel like it's tricky to judge. The premise of this book was very interesting. A woman, Frances, comes upon and accident on a deserted road and is there to hear the last words of the woman in the car, Alys, who dies. Alys' family asks to meet with Frances to hear about their wife & mother's last moments. Frances meets with them and then begins relationships with the family. Also, Frances is a copyeditor and Alys' husband is a well known writer so Frances gets...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Radhika rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frances Thorpe comes upon an accident and spends a few minutes with the dying driver giving her solace and calling for help. This small incident in her uneventful life makes her life take a different turn. She is just an assistant editor for a book section of a newspaper with no hopes of going anywhere, but fate has other plans. The accident victim whom she helps is none other than Alys Kyte the wife of the famous author Laurence Kyte

The family asks to meet with Frances to bring them closure on...more

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May 07, 2013 Niall Slynn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not nearly disquieting enough...

I rather think it may have been my mistake, to have read the reviews of 'Alys, always', and of course the spiel on the back cover, rather than just diving in and reading the book on its own merits. If I was being unnecessarily scathing and simultaneously misogynistic I'd suggest that this is a book that will circulate widely amongst the predominantly middle class female book groups that litter suburbia (that's my less than subtle way of levelling an accusation of...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Katy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For an acclaimed psychological thriller, this was pretty weak. Maybe it's the inner psychotic inside me that thinks there could have been so much more made of this, or maybe actually many others agree. I was waiting for the crunch, the big one, the bit where she so wildly oversteps the line there is no going back. Yes she manipulates, yes there are the occasional crazy behaviors dropped in but it's not enough.

I felt that the characters surrounding Frances could have been explored a bit more, som...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Peri Goldberg rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't understand why this is considered a thriller. I didn't see enough psychotic behavior to make it creepy. What I did see was a story about a woman transformed by an unexpected accident. Now, if it came out in the end that our narrator actually caused the accident she witnessed I might consider it a creepy thriller, but no, not the case. It is simply about a young woman who decides to take advantage of a situation. It did have an eerie feel about it, and I kept waiting for more of a dark re...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Kathleen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The emperor has no clothes. You know when you find yourself checking the clock during a movie or eyeing the measure of remaining pages in a book with an increasing sense of unease of how the story will wrap up in a satisfactory way and then....it doesn't. Sometimes it turns out it was just a dumb story to begin with that goes nowhere. Welcome to Alys, Always. We're supposed to shiver at the depths of cunning and deceit of the main character, Frances in her quest to "rise above" her pedestrian li...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Marla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: great-for-book-clubs, good-reads

I thoroughly enjoyed this British story; at first I wasn't sure if it was just because it was so English - making tea on the hob, wellies by the door, etc. but the author writes so well that she easily pulls you into a fascinating story of a somewhat dysfunctional family lured into a well laid trap by Frances Thorpe, a slightly boring and mousy copywriter at a busy publishing house. Frances, while driving to visit her parents, comes across a car accident and she stays with the victim until an am...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Northwestreader rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A short book of just over two hundred pages, Alys, Always is a quick read. As an American, I was initially challenged by the British terms and references, but it was not difficult to get beyond a few terms that I did not understand.

The story opens to a fatal accident that Frances Thorpe spots as she is on her way home from her parents’ house. Frances gets out of her car and hurries over to the scene and finds herself alone with a middle aged woman who is dying. The victim speaks briefly with Fra...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Megan Fuller rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am not sure what to think about this book. I read it in a day and couldn't stop. It intrigued me, and I didn't know what to think at the end. The book made me think, well after I was finished reading it. I read the essay also by Harriet Lane, and now I want to know more about her and her vision. I did love the characters, and I was cheering for Francis even though she was wrong. I can't decide if she plotted from early on, the first night she met Alys, or if there was something before that? Th...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alys, Always is an intriguing story of a young woman, Frances Thorpe, who while driving home one evening comes upon an auto accident. She realizes someone is trapped in the wreckage and as she waits for the police to arrive, Frances comforts the injured woman. When the woman later dies, Frances is asked by the police to meet with the family so that she might provide them some comfort and closure. Finally agreeing, Frances finds herself embellishing the last words of the deceased and strangely dr...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Aimee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 15, 2013 Ginny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frances Thorpe comes upon a car wreck and watches helplessly as the female victim dies while waiting for help to arrive. Frances, who is an assistant book editor at a newspaper, agrees to a police officer's request to meet with the victim's family but only after she learns that the husband is a famous author. Francis then proceeds to slowly and craftily worm her way into the family's life and the stratified atmosphere of London's literary society. Frances gave me the creeps because I was never r...more

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European Literature > British Literature

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Literary Fiction

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Contemporary

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Mystery

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Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

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Quotes from Alys, Always

“I know the names of the books - their old covers bleached to palest greens or pinks by the endless cycle of summers - lined up on the shelf.” — 2 people liked it

“Maybe it's not really lying if you barely know you're doing it. It should be true. It's the way it should be, in an ideal world.” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259653-alys-always?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338950141l/13259653.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259653-alys-always?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Alys, Always by Harriet Lane[/url]

Alys, Always

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