Marianne Perry's Blog - Posts Tagged "never-saw-it-coming"
Never Saw it Coming
Book Notes:
Never Saw it Coming by Linwood Barclay
I cringed, laughed, wondered and awed. Never Saw It Coming kept me hooked from Chapter One to Chapter Thirty-Four. Keisha Ceylon, a sham psychic, sells hope to people swept up in tragic circumstances. She gets involved in the case of a missing woman and almost becomes a victim herself. I've heard others refer to this book as a "black comedy" and methinks, that might be right! There are twists and turns page after page and though the coincidences are a bit much, it's an inventive and intriguing plot.
Chapter Two is particularly poignant as it describes Ellie Garfield, stabbed and trapped in a car slowly sinking through the cracked ice. The writing is superb and description chilling. Chapter Four whereby Keisha reveals her how-to techniques is quite the reveal. She says (and I paraphrase), the key was to listen and have them provide the clues. Give them something to latch onto.
On the downside, I found the story too quick and the concluding chapters rushed. Character development was minimal but Keisha's devotion to her young son, was clearly conveyed. Most of the characters were scoundrels (a pregnant daughter who stabs her mother!) and there is a darkness at the core of the story; nevertheless, Linwood Barclay has penned a clever and worthwhile read.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
Never Saw it Coming by Linwood Barclay
I cringed, laughed, wondered and awed. Never Saw It Coming kept me hooked from Chapter One to Chapter Thirty-Four. Keisha Ceylon, a sham psychic, sells hope to people swept up in tragic circumstances. She gets involved in the case of a missing woman and almost becomes a victim herself. I've heard others refer to this book as a "black comedy" and methinks, that might be right! There are twists and turns page after page and though the coincidences are a bit much, it's an inventive and intriguing plot.
Chapter Two is particularly poignant as it describes Ellie Garfield, stabbed and trapped in a car slowly sinking through the cracked ice. The writing is superb and description chilling. Chapter Four whereby Keisha reveals her how-to techniques is quite the reveal. She says (and I paraphrase), the key was to listen and have them provide the clues. Give them something to latch onto.
On the downside, I found the story too quick and the concluding chapters rushed. Character development was minimal but Keisha's devotion to her young son, was clearly conveyed. Most of the characters were scoundrels (a pregnant daughter who stabs her mother!) and there is a darkness at the core of the story; nevertheless, Linwood Barclay has penned a clever and worthwhile read.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca
