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An Unfamiliar Murder
by
Jane Isaac (Goodreads Author)
Arriving home from a routine day at work, Anna Cottrell has no idea that her life is about to change forever. But discovering the stabbed body of a stranger in her flat, then becoming prime suspect in a murder enquiry is only the beginning. Her persistent claims of innocence start to crumble when new evidence links her irrevocably with the victim...
Leading her first murde...more
Leading her first murde...more
Paperback, First, 272 pages
Published
by Rainstorm Press
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So, you know how sometimes when you start a book, you get that little frisson of excitement because you are fairly sure you are about to add another set of novels to that already large grouping that you call "must read whenever there is a new one"? I had that feeling here, probably about a quarter of the way through the book. Anna returns home from work one day to discover her flat broken into and a dead body occupying it. Which as you can imagine, is a bit of a shock. Suspected by the Police, a...more
Jane Isaac's An Unfamiliar Murder Is An Engrossing Read!
The director Alfred Hitchcock always said he was fascinated by stories whereby someone is arrested for a crime they say they didn’t commit, but the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked against them. The author Jane Isaac must prescribe to the same philosophy, since right from the start the reader becomes drawn into a chillingly frightening situation when a young woman, Anna Cottrell, comes home after a day of work and finds a stranger’s dead...more
The director Alfred Hitchcock always said he was fascinated by stories whereby someone is arrested for a crime they say they didn’t commit, but the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked against them. The author Jane Isaac must prescribe to the same philosophy, since right from the start the reader becomes drawn into a chillingly frightening situation when a young woman, Anna Cottrell, comes home after a day of work and finds a stranger’s dead...more
AN UNFAMILIAR MURDER is a well crafted mystery that keeps the reader guessing. Just when you think you know "who done it" the plot takes another turn. The story is fast paced and believable. It kept my interest, never lagging, and I ended up reading it in one night. Author Jane Isaac certainly has a gift for weavng a story, one filled with a diverse cast of characters, different from one another and yet, every one of them well developed, interesting, and believable.
The story opens with the heroi...more
The story opens with the heroi...more
From Lilac Wolf and Stuff
I've seen this cover before...and I know I wanted to read the book. Because you may not judge a book by it's cover, but you are either made curious or turned off. This one looked creepy.
And guess what? It was creepy! You really have no idea who is behind the murders. You kind of know someone is watching Anna. Even as you start guessing, new leads pop up and old ones fizzle out. It was a very exciting mystery.
I was especially captured by Helen Lavery, the...well we'd call...more
I've seen this cover before...and I know I wanted to read the book. Because you may not judge a book by it's cover, but you are either made curious or turned off. This one looked creepy.
And guess what? It was creepy! You really have no idea who is behind the murders. You kind of know someone is watching Anna. Even as you start guessing, new leads pop up and old ones fizzle out. It was a very exciting mystery.
I was especially captured by Helen Lavery, the...well we'd call...more
Enjoyment is not the word for this debut effort by mystery author Jane Isaac. I loved it. The chief detective in charge, Helen Lavery, has to deal not only with unraveling a particularly tricky murder case, but also office politics and troubles at home as well. This makes for a richly constructed tapestry of events and emotions playing out against a modern English murder mystery backdrop.
Our story begins when Anna Cottrell, a young school teacher, walks into her flat, sensing something amiss, a...more
Our story begins when Anna Cottrell, a young school teacher, walks into her flat, sensing something amiss, a...more
What would you do if you arrived home to find someone had broken the lock on your door? I don’t think I would go in alone but we never know until we are faced with such a situation. Anna Cottrell did and what she found unraveled her life and brought surprises on many levels.
I admit I didn’t have high expectations for this book as I have often been disappointed by first novels however; I was pleasantly surprised to find the book grabbed me at the beginning and didn’t let go until the very last p...more
I admit I didn’t have high expectations for this book as I have often been disappointed by first novels however; I was pleasantly surprised to find the book grabbed me at the beginning and didn’t let go until the very last p...more
This murder mystery is somewhat unique in that there are two protagonists. The point of view moves back and forth between Detective Chief Inspector Helen Lavery who is investigating her first murder, and school teacher Anna Cottrell. Anna is surprised one evening when she finds the dead body of a total stranger on her living room sofa. The next place she finds herself is in jail. After her release, it becomes clear to police that Anna herself is in danger. During the investigation, deeply buried...more
I didn't quite know what to expect when I picked up An Unfamiliar Murder, other than the blurb had drawn my interest.
I was surprised to find that DCI Lavery was a well rounded cop who has a busy home life, which she struggled to juggle with the demands of a homicide investigation. The contrast between DCI boss at work and worried mum at home were smoothly moved between and believable.
I was thrilled with the police procedural knowledge in the book, which just made it flow so smoothly, leaving not...more
I was surprised to find that DCI Lavery was a well rounded cop who has a busy home life, which she struggled to juggle with the demands of a homicide investigation. The contrast between DCI boss at work and worried mum at home were smoothly moved between and believable.
I was thrilled with the police procedural knowledge in the book, which just made it flow so smoothly, leaving not...more
Can you imagine coming home from work to find a dead body in your living room and blood all over the place. Well I can't but Anna Cottrell sure found out. As time goes on things just get worse and worse. An Unfamiliar Murder starts off and doesn't let you go until the end. Anna has some family secrets that even she didn't know about and she finds that her parents have been keeping secret from her that will change her life in ways that she could never imagine. This is a wonderful thriller that I...more
I love a good murder mystery, and Jane Isaac delivers with her debut novel, An Unfamiliar Murder. Anna Cottrell comes home to find that a man has been violently murdered in her flat. As if the horror of that scene were not bad enough, she quickly becomes a suspect. From there, the action picks up with Anna's life coming unraveled as secrets about her past are revealed, and she soon realizes that nothing is as it seems.
This well crafted crime novel is full of intriguing characters (including the...more
This well crafted crime novel is full of intriguing characters (including the...more
Jane Isaac rocks! Unfamiliar's chapters catapult you into intrigue as you try to beat the writer to figuring out the truth. But it isn't possible. You start to get a feeling that things aren't as they seem ... and then suddenly they aren't. Then it builds up a little further ... and everything is turned on its head again. It kept me guessing right up to the final chapter, and to my joy, the build up led directly to a tumultuous climax and in my mind you can't ask for more than that for a thrille...more
The DNA of Murder
You know it is going to be a page-turner when in the first chapter a strange body turns up in the home of the protagonist, Anna Cottrell, who is not a spy but just your average school teacher.
After the police accept Anna is not the murderer and release her, she then discovers that she and the murder victim are linked and that perhaps her past is not exactly as she was led to believe. What is even more frightening is that those past secrets could quite possibly place her and...more
Jane Isaac's book - 'An Unfamiliar Murder', is as fast paced as it is full of twists and turns. Unfortunately, I am one of those readers, that if a book doesn't grab my attention from the beginning I don't usually persevere with it for too long. 'An Unfamiliar Murder' however, did grab my attention and I found myself eagerly turning the pages so I could find out what would happen to Anna next?
Anna Cottrell is a young woman who inadvertently finds herself thrown into a web of murder and intrigue...more
Anna Cottrell is a young woman who inadvertently finds herself thrown into a web of murder and intrigue...more
I found Jane Isaac's "An Unfamiliar Murder" to be quite the lovely page turner. Due to circumstances beyond Anna's control, she finds herself swept up in a dangerous world of murder and treachery. In so doing, she undergoes a transformation. Much like a butterfly, emerging from its chrysalis, Anna is taken above and beyond the person that she knew herself to be. Many authors tell you a character has grown due to life-changing events, but Isaac did a splendid job of “showing” that transformation....more
My rating: 4 1/2 stars
I very much enjoyed reading this book. Having worked with the British Police in the past decade, I can probably claim that I know a little bit about the police procedures. I was impressed with Isaac's research into the system, her development of fine, believable characters and the turns and twists to make this murder mystery a very engaging read.
I am giving it 4 1/2 stars, knowing that it is only Jane Isaac's debut, and I know there are more books in the pipeline. This is...more
I very much enjoyed reading this book. Having worked with the British Police in the past decade, I can probably claim that I know a little bit about the police procedures. I was impressed with Isaac's research into the system, her development of fine, believable characters and the turns and twists to make this murder mystery a very engaging read.
I am giving it 4 1/2 stars, knowing that it is only Jane Isaac's debut, and I know there are more books in the pipeline. This is...more
A delightful read. A nice, tight mystery that is constantly moving, pulling at you to keep reading it. Like all great books, the story changes the deeper you get into it. Character interactions and events that seem circumstantial suddenly shift when we learn more about this mystery. Sorry to be vague, I just don't want to give away too much. Grab a copy of this book. You won't be disappointed.
A little slow to start, but picked up eventually. Anna comes home from the store to find the front door to her flat broken. Upon going inside, she finds a dead body. From there, there are lies, suspicion and much more going on. A good murder mystery.
Isaac has found a loyal reader in me. There were several moments where I gasped or gawked at something she had revealed, despite information being trickled onto the pages and not dumped. Although I don’t usually go for novels with more than a few lines of description here and there, I was won over by her effortless style. The characters in An Unfamiliar Murder were realistic and multi-dimensional; I could connect with them easily.
Isaac has crafted a novel with high standards and I’d recommend th...more
Isaac has crafted a novel with high standards and I’d recommend th...more
Jane Isaac's debut novel begins with a murder and instant suspicion surrounds the woman who resides in the flat where the victim's body is discovered. That's one story arc. The second arc involves another woman placed as the lead detective on the case, and all of the procedural work has that ring of truth. I loved the two women, their hopes, dreams, their family lives, the secrets they keep. Good characters is a plus. The story moved and had me reading through to the end. The addition of a myste...more
Enjoyed this ,,, read it in a day .
Amazing!!!!!! Such fabulous characters, the twists and plot are crazy good! Fabulous Jane!
Apr 06, 2013
Rita
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2013
Delee
marked it as to-read
Mar 14, 2013
John Dolan
marked it as to-read
Feb 24, 2013
David
marked it as to-read
Feb 24, 2013
Rebecca
marked it as to-read
Jan 29, 2013
Maria
marked it as to-read
Jan 29, 2013
Beáta
marked it as to-read
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