Raveling

by Peter Moore Smith

Raveling is a brilliant thriller about two brothers, their mother, and the sad fact of their little sister's unsolved disappearance twenty years earlier.

One of the brothers, Pilot, has come back home to take care of his aging mother, but his own mental state has not been stable since his sister vanished. He is determined at last to find out the truth -- but for every step he takes nearer the facts of that long-ago night, the less he trusts reality. And by the time he finds one incontrovertible piece of evidence, even Pilot cannot be sure what it really means.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Suspense, American, Drama

448 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2000

Reviews

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little draggy in parts, but I love the narration style, and I love Pilot. I wish this author had more books.

[BunTheDestroyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 10% This book was absolutely terrible and i had it all figured out by page 10. And i definitely did not like the writing style of omniscent from Pilot's POV. That kind of thing only works for diaries.

[Jennifer - The Book Admirer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raveling by Peter Moore Smith is about two brothers, Eric a doctor and Pilot a schizophrenic. Eric and Pilot's sister disappeared 20 years ago and Pilot is convinced that Eric killed her and hid her body somewhere, throughout the novel Pilot is trying to convince this to his psychotherapist Katherine and anyone else who will listen. I found the story to be gripping and suspenseful, after I read the ending and found out what happened to their sister I was sickened and still thinking about it days afterward. The only thing I did not like about this novel is the way it was written. All of it is written from Pilot's point a view, which normally wouldn't be a bad thing, but in the book he is omniscient so he knows everything there is to know about everyone. This gets confusing because he is telling the story as if he is in the room with the other characters when he isn't. I got confused a few times as to who was telling the story because sometimes it seemed like it was coming from Katherine or Eric. There are also no chapters which seemed odd.

I liked some of the characters more than others. I really liked Pilot I liked how his thoughts were all over the place it made it believable that he could be crazy yet he was very self aware most of the time. Katherine, I did not like at all. Maybe if she weren't a psychotherapist my feelings would be different, but the way she was written she just came across as extremely unprofessional with how she handled Pilot and her relationship with Eric and mixing the two together. Plus for someone in the profession of helping those who are mentally unstable she had a lot of issues that she never helped herself with or solved in the book. It would have been nice if she had some closure of her own. Eric came across as very one dimensional and remote. It was like he was a robot trying to act like he was human. It was only the in the flashback scenes that we got another side of him.

Overall I liked it, I give it 3 stars. It was worth the read and enjoyable once you can get the hang of the writing style, but I don't think I would read it again.

[Bob Box · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2000. A brilliant thriller about two brothers, their mother, and the sad fact of their little sister's unsolved disappearance twenty years earlier. One of my favorites that year.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Moore Smith, Raveling (Little, Brown, 2000)

Acclaimed short story writer Peter Moore Smith turns his talents to novel writing, and Raveling is his debut offering. It's been received with, to be kind, mixed reviews, probably because it's a genre novel-- but what genre it is is somewhat elusive.

Pilot Airie is a diagnosed schizophrenic whose mental problems started after the abduction of his little sister twenty years before. His mother Hannah, who's almost as neurotic as Pilot is, has started seeing double; his brother Eric, a successful neurosurgeon, says it's psychosomatic. (Dad's off in Florida with the new girlfriend.) Welcome to Oprahland, where dysfunction reigns supreme. Smith puts a twist on it, though-- the story is completely told through the eyes of Pilot, who believes himself omniscient. Thus, we are forced to ask ourselves from page one, is any of this actually happening, or is it all in Pilot's head? And if it IS really happening, what does that say about the underlying message about schizophrenia and its relation to (what we shall call for lack of a better term) extrasensory powers?

Sounds like a mystery, doesn't it? Well, perhaps, or it could be a novel of the dysfuctional-fiction genre, focusing on drawing the character of Pilot and having him interact with those around him. Or a historical novel-- not of the gothic-romance type, but a novel of the process of attempting to rebuild history (given Pilot's narration, the mystery isn't just about what happened to his sister, but about what's happened to his family over the twenty years following what happened to Fiona, see?). And this is, perhaps, where some reviewers are getting sidetracked; how you approach the book will probably lead to how you view the last half of it. If it's a conventional mystery, it very quickly gets predictable.

I chose to look at it as a kind of Pilot-vs.-the-world story, or a coming-of-age book about a thirty-year-old schizophrenic, and that made all the difference. The solving of the mystery of Fiona is handled more in the sense of classical tragedy than contemporary mystery; you can see the ending coming a mile off, but that's because the solving of the mystery itself is a background to the players and their motives; the real mystery for the reader lies in Pilot himself.

An enjoyable read, especially for a first novel. *** 1/2

[Joni Aveni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kept my interest and was a fast read. I’d actually like to give it 3.5 stars but that isn’t an option. And that is mainly because I found some of the dialogue most irritating when they constantly repeated words or phrases. At first I thought one of the characters had an intentional stutter until I realized the author did this with everyone’s dialogue. It was just annoying — or maybe it was just me ….

[Morgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty years ago a 7 year old girl disappeared from a neighborhood party being held in her yard. Now one brother is a neurosurgeon, and the other is having psychotic incidents. Mother is going blind for no discernible reason, and father has left. The psychotic brother is determined to find out what happened so he can reverse his family's unraveling.

[Alyssa Litt · Rating 4 out of 5]

First older suspense book I’ve read. Got this at a 10 cent book sale and it was the advanced reading copy so it was interesting to pick out the errors. Had me guessing who the killer was, and who to trust. I wish it gave a little more twist, but not unbearable like some of these other reviews made it sound!

[Anna Broyles · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is IMPOSSIBLE to follow. There are NO chapters, which i get works for the storyline but it makes the book drag out longer than it should. things didnt start making sense until the end and a lot of the story line seems like fluffed up nonsense to make the book longer.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A psychological bind bender .... a page turner.

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caveat: the subject and details in this book are very disturbing. Read with caution. That being said it was a very twisty psych thriller.

[Linda Amberntsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lite seg bok, saknar kapitelindelning el dyl. Tvister i boken gör att tankarna hoppar Lite mellan potentiella mördare.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This story was so interesting but disturbing at the same time.

[Danielle Sissell · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD! A true psychological thriller.

[Carmen8094 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pilot è uno schizofrenico - o, almeno, questo è quello che dicono i medici -.
Non è stato più lo stesso da quando, vent'anni prima, la sorellina Fiona scomparve misteriosamente durante un party in piscina.
Pilot continua a vedere la piccola col suo costumino rosso, continua a rivivere quella giornata, con l'assoluta certezza di sapere qualcosa che non vuole saperne di uscire fuori dalla sua testa.
Ma chi crederebbe a uno schizofrenico?
Chi preferirebbe dare adito alle sue parole, piuttosto che a quelle del fratello, noto neurochirurgo?
Chi potrebbe credere alla verità, quando questa supera ogni terribile fantasia?
Claustrofobico, ingannevole, confuso, Rivelazione ci dispiega dinanzi la mente di Pilot, i suoi ricordi, i suoi vaneggiamenti, le sue verità.
Molto belli gli ultimi capitoli, in cui l'attenzione si sposta su altri personaggi, ma sta al lettore capire quando e perchè.
Con un finale, una "rivelazione", davvero molto forte, terribile, inaspettato.

http://iltesorodicarta.blogspot.it/

[Barbara Elsborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this has to be the most unusual suspense novel I've ever read. I'm so used to straight forward points of view and it takes a well to get into the very strange POV of this story, but it's well worth perservering. The tale is largely told through the POV of Pilot - who is psychologically fragile. His family have become unraveled after the disappearance of Pilot young sister. Pilot's older brother is now a neuro surgeon. Their father has left home and started a new life elswhere. Their mother is haunted by the memories of her missing daughter. Throw Pilot's new psychologist into the mix and things unravel or ravel further. Say too much and the plot is spoiled but I really enjoyed this one.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to review this book. I finished it, I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it either. The plot was strong enough to make me want to finish it, and I was happy with the ending, but it was a bit of a weird book.

I think it could have been a bit shorter, and I really didn't enjoy how the writer would make his characters repeat themselves or interrupt themselves when speaking. I realize he probably did it to make it more realistic, but it was just annoying. "I know that, that you wanted to do something." Just stop it.

But, it was a good enough book. I think I can only give it 3 stars because I really have no idea how to review it.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the reviews I read here said this book dragged which almost made me reconsider reading it but thank goodness I didn't let those reviews deter me from reading this page turner! Yes, page turner! This is one fabulous novel, in my opinion. So many delusional personalities fighting through the grief of losing a child and not finding the missing child's body leaving nagging questions unanswered.
If you like psychological suspense with shocking events that leave you wondering, then this is the book for you! Beware though....At times the story is dark and a bit creepy....WOW....What an ending! Yikes!

[Bria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever read a book that makes you want to go back and lower your ratings for other books you've read in the same genre because the book you just finished was really the kind of book you were looking for all along?

I do now.

Great unreliable narrator that keeps you thrilled and confused until the very last paragraph. Also the author does a great job by keeping this a true psychological thriller and doesn't reveal every single little thing. This book takes some thinking and overall you're left wondering if you can trust any truth that has been unraveled or raveled.

[Stanford Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

the book did drag a little and was a little slow at times, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. the ending, in comparison, did feel a little rushed. when i think about it a little more, i suppose it does kinda mirror the main character's bettering mental state and how he is no longer stuck in his own head, but it was a little jarring initially.

overall, it was an enjoyable read. im trying to get back into books after a long period of not reading much, if at all, and i feel that this was a good way to start that journey off.

[Erik M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has its problems, sure, but what a fascinating story and, perhaps more importantly, a fascinating way to TELL a story. It's dark and sad and lonely, so don't read this if you've been in the dumps recently. So far as suspense novels or mysteries are concerned, this one has quite a lot going for it.

Young parents be warned: you know a little girl disappears from the start. It doesn't get any easier from there.

[Martha Scannell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This masterfully written novel takes you on a gripping journey of Pilot, who suffers schizophrenia since the unsolved disappearance of his sister over twenty years ago. The reader wonders at times if Pilot's thoughts are reality or imagined simply due to his psychotic breaks. It is suspenseful page-turner right up to the riveting end.

[Tyler Mcpotatolovin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favorite novel ever written. I read it my freshman year in high school. I was always intersted in people with mental problems like pilot had, and this book made me want to become a psychologist. I never like to re-read novels. Captain Underpants excluded. I can easily re-read this book many seperate times. I LOVE this book

[Clashton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book over-long and somewhat irritating.

Think of a script for one of those bad crime/mystery dramas on the Lifetime channel, and you capture a great deal of the book.

What is different is that the story is told from the point of view of a character who may or may not be omniscient, and who may or may not be schizophrenic/psychotic, but that eventually becomes tiresome.

[Ashley RiggzSnadez · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some technical flaws such as Katheryn being someone with a masters degree in psych, there were a lot of questions she asked Lennox that she literally would have never got her license to counsel for without knowing. However, for the purpose of explaining certain terms and concepts to readers, it was kinda necessary, I guess. I enjoyed this book. Great psychological thriller!

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all & don't know why I felt compelled to finish it. Some relationships/storylines weren't developed enough, & the back & forth between characters bothered me. As a whole, the book seemed disjointed to me.

[a · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember too much but I did write "really, really good" next to it so...it must have been. I do remember hearing about it from a famous actress who's brother had written it? will have to check this out :)

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this 2 1/2 stars. It was written from an omniscient POV which was weird because it was also Pilot's POV and he wasn't in every scene. Almost everything the therapist Katherine did was unethical which bothered me. The ending wasn't all that surprising.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, still the best fiction book I have ever read.

[Nancy Job]

superb fiction !