CWA Silver Dagger Award winner Morag Joss peers into the soul of a wounded family in this haunting, harrowing masterpiece of psychological suspense...
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reviews
May 21, 2011
purplemagnolia
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NOTE: I DIDN'T CHOOSE THIS BOOK, BUT RATHER GOT ASKED TO REVIEW IT BY MY EDITOR WHEN I WAS WRITING FOR MY UNIVERSITY NEWSPAPER QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO NOW.
This haunting novel tells the story of Lila’s fifteenth summer. Free from school, Lila’s summer looks unremarkable, with only her mother’s hysterics and frequent playing of Puccini’s Turandot to break the monotony of life in small town Burnhead, on the west coast of Scotland. Everything changes, however, when her Uncle George, a m More...
This haunting novel tells the story of Lila’s fifteenth summer. Free from school, Lila’s summer looks unremarkable, with only her mother’s hysterics and frequent playing of Puccini’s Turandot to break the monotony of life in small town Burnhead, on the west coast of Scotland. Everything changes, however, when her Uncle George, a m More...
Oct 25, 2011
Theresa Leone
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Morag Joss is one of my favorite authors but her novels are dark, with little included to lighten them even the slightest, and this novel is no exception. It is about a family and their attempt to put on an opera (Puccini's unfinished 'Turandot'), the first of its kind in the remote town of Burnhead in Scotland. Every character has secrets and the sense of foreboding starts in the first chapter and doesn't stop until the end, when the harshest secrets are revealed in the worst possible ways. Exc
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Oct 31, 2009
Susan
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I found this book on the free book exchange cart at of our school. It was the last day of school before summer vacation and I was looking for something to read. I had never heard of this author before but the blub on the back made it sound interesting so I picked it up. WHAT A FIND! Terrific writer, interesting story, deep psychological insights, including mother and daughter stuff that I, for one, never grow tired of. It makes me wonder why I've never heard anyone talking about this author
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Mar 23, 2009
Rita
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It's different from the other Morag Joss books, she usually writes crime novels set in Bath. I liked this a lot though. It went backwards & forwards in time, the main story was set in 1960 when Lila was 15 & believed herself in love for the first time, the rest is in the present when Lila (now in her fifties) has to arrange her father's funeral. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes Kate Atkinson novels & other novels about dysfuctional families.
Jan 20, 2008
Lori
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Morag Joss intrigues me. Her books (at least the two I've read) are billed as suspense, despite the fact that they're mostly character-driven. There's well-paced plot, of course, but not much that you'd expect to find in a typical thriller.
Which may be why I've liked them both so much.
Her main characters are flawed, but in ways that make them more like us than we might want to admit. You know that things aren't going to turn out all right; it's just a matter of when and More...
Which may be why I've liked them both so much.
Her main characters are flawed, but in ways that make them more like us than we might want to admit. You know that things aren't going to turn out all right; it's just a matter of when and More...
Jun 03, 2009
Tracy
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Slow start but the middle got better and caught my curiosity. A bit of a predictible ending. Everyone's family is messed up but this reminded me of what a dreamworld we live in and create when we are teens and how much what happens in that period of time shapes the person we become.
Jul 17, 2011
Sarah
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A weird book... switches between present-day and flashbacks with no warning, confusing to follow when reading with many breaks. Interesting to me because it featured some things about opera, but I probably wouldn't recommend it.
Jan 12, 2009
Lynn
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I liked this book quite a bit. The author handles plot very well and she did a good job of creating tension by moving back and forth in time. I think too much hinged on a revelation that wasn't much of a revelation, and a few things that felt important were left unexplained. It was very well written, but the ending was a little flat. The majority of the book was good, though.
Jul 28, 2011
Yes, a wonderful writer about a group of truly unappealing people. Terrifying detail about endlessly sad lives.
Dec 22, 2011
Daisy
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I probably would have appreciated it better if I had a better knowledge of the referenced opera.
Apr 13, 2009
Janet
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Got sucked in by a good review and then finished it thinking something would happen. It never did!
Jan 28, 2008
K
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i found this book to be very well written and i think the author did a great job of evoking a creepy, sad and dysfunctional mood. usually that works for me, but i couldn't wait for the book to end. i think the only reason i finished it was to find out what horrible thing befell the family, b/c it was clear something did. there was such buildup, i suppose the ending couldn't help but be a disappointment. also, i found the style to be mostly introspective, and that became wearying after awhile
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Jul 16, 2008
Emily
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I was really disappointed with this book. When I read the summary, my excitement soared because the book was about opera (one of my passions) and the mysteries of life. Each chapter alternated between the past and the present- at times they were blurred. The plot was slow and not as capativating as I'd hoped. It wasn't a bad book, just not one I'd recommend.
Nov 17, 2007
Moira
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This was a really good book. I thought I would love it because I am a Puccini fan, and I did love it, but I liked her Half Broken Things better. This had some things that seemed a touch contrived. But it is a still a good read about unfullfilled dreams and what the mind does to alter reality.
Aug 10, 2008
Hilda
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I might have enjoyed this story a little more if I were a fan of Puccini's operas, but I found this book to be very long and boring.
I have read other historical novels and historical romances like "I, Mona Lisa" and have really enjoyed them, but this book didn't cut it for me.
I have read other historical novels and historical romances like "I, Mona Lisa" and have really enjoyed them, but this book didn't cut it for me.
Nov 18, 2008
Meg - A Bookish Affair
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This book was horrendously slow. I couldn't wait for it to end. I couldn't really get into the book at all. The flashbacks between the past and the present were blurred. This definitely ranked low for me.
Apr 10, 2008
Peter
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Hapless protagonist you love to hate, angst, opera, erring humanity, surprise ending. What more could you want?
Nov 17, 2008
Richard
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A very funny and sad book. If you love opera, you'll love this production.
Feb 21, 2010
Marie
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Disappointing, didn't care about the main charactor by the middle of the novel.
Feb 07, 2012
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