Thomas Cook is one of today's most acclaimed writers of psychological thrillers, penning hypnotic tales of forbidden love and devastating secrets. ...
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Sep 17, 2011
Intplibrarian
rated it: 
I liked this book so much, I went out and got another by the same author the day after finishing it.[return][return]Having read some other reviews, I agree that it IS graphically violent in parts, though that violence is a large part of why everything else happens the way it does and how the characters become the people they are. [return][return]There are (at least) two big twists in the plot. One could have been predictable if I'd put the book down long enough to really think about it, but th
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Dec 24, 2008
Ron
rated it: 
A sombre mystery regarding a girl who was murdered 50 years before the action in the present takes place. The girl, Faye, was the daughter of a retainer of the Davies family, who owned the large estate of Riverwood along the Hudson River outside of New York City.
The main protagonist is Paul Graves, a benumbed writer of mysteries whose main recurring characters represent apsects of his own past and present. Graves is asked by Allison Davies, the current owner of Riverwood, to look int More...
The main protagonist is Paul Graves, a benumbed writer of mysteries whose main recurring characters represent apsects of his own past and present. Graves is asked by Allison Davies, the current owner of Riverwood, to look int More...
Mar 22, 2011
Christie
rated it:
I picked up Instruments of Night on a Friday night and read about 30 pages. It was late when I started and so eventually my eyes gave out. On Saturday I picked it up again and didn’t put it down until I finished – with a gasp, I must add – the book. I stumbled on Cook totally by accident three or four years back. I picked up, at a second hand bookstore, his novel Breakheart Hill and read these lines: “This is the darkest story I ever heard and all my life I have labored not to tell it.” Hooked.
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Aug 14, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
this book has stuck with me for years. now that i found the author again, i intend to read the rest of his books. the characters were well written and their dramas are compelling - all of them. the story has a more psychological bent than most mystery novels. if you enjoy delving into characters and their motivations, this book should keep you thinking about it even after you finish the book.
Feb 14, 2010
Beryl
rated it:
This is my second Thomas H. Cook novel. I loved The Chatham School Affair and wanted more. This one is much darker and has some really graphic violence, but once you are into it you can't put it down. You may just want to skip the "oh, yuk" parts because it is a good story. Not for the squeamish, however. If you like psychological thrillers, this is for you (unless you really are squeamish).
Sep 22, 2009
Carla
rated it:
A creepy story... The type that keeps you up at night. I couldn't put it down but at the same time didn't want to continue reading due to the graphic and terrifying images.
Sep 29, 2011
Rowan
rated it: 
It probably deserves 4 stars but there so much horrible stuff (torture) in it that I don't know if I'll ever be able to read another of his.
Aug 09, 2011
Joy
rated it:
This was a morbid, unsettling read. I liked it better than The Chatham School Affair.
May 14, 2008
Galen
rated it:
Paul Graves, a reclusive mystery writer, is invited to Riverwood estate writers colony to write and to solve a decades-old murder of the friend of the current owner. He must face his own dark secrets as he interviews the surviving characters in the real-life mystery to tease apart the actual events that led to the death of a beautiful young girl so long ago.
Well written, dark, mysterious, with interesting parallels in the plots. Not fast-paced, but an enjoyable mystery read.
Well written, dark, mysterious, with interesting parallels in the plots. Not fast-paced, but an enjoyable mystery read.
Dec 17, 2009
Renee
rated it:
this book is awful & terrifying - i really wish i had not read it!!!! It stayed with me for a while, and most books i read do not... hence the advanced rating.
Feb 23, 2010
Christine
rated it: 
It's difficult to read when there are typos..m=th, U=L. It's very distracting to the flow of the story. Nevermind, that flow went nowhere..but the author is still in dire need of a copy editor or at least a 3rd grade teacher to correct his spelling and typos.
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