The Pull of The Moon

by Diane Janes

Knowledge is power, but secrets are more powerful still... secrets have a life of their own and a way of working themselves to centre stage. When Kate Mayfield receives a letter from Mrs Ivanisovic, she realises that the secret she has kept for more than thirty years is not so safe as she imagined. Haunted by the echoes of a vanished summer which changed her life for ever, Kate is forced to confront memories she would rather forget... a dead white face in a flickering beam, not flinching when the soil hit it... Mrs Ivanisovic is dying and demands to be told the truth, but is Kate's story of love, lies and murder really what Mrs Ivanisovic wants to hear? And how much does she herself already know? The danger is always there that a secret is going to find a way out...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story told on two levels. Kate Mayfield is a retired teacher, unmarried, leading a blameless existence, whiling away her time at swimming and badminton clubs. She has only one really close friend, Hilly, whom she has known since their schooldays.

A letter arrives from Mrs. Ivanisovic, a figure from a terrifying past which she has tried to suppress for thirty years. Mrs. Ivanisovic wants to know more about her son’s death in the early 1970’s. Kate was his girlfriend at the time. From this point the novel alternates between the present and the past.

Kate is a college student, and her boyfriend Danny is at a nearby university. Kate’s parents are extremely strict and old-fashioned, and would be horrified to know that Kate is sleeping with him on a regular basis. The long summer vacation is looming. Danny tells her that his friend Simon’s uncle, who owns a large country house on the other side of their town, is going to be away for several months and wants Simon to live in the house and do some work in the garden, including making a pond. He suggests he takes a couple of friends with him to help. Danny and Kate are really keen on this idea, but Kate has to concoct an elaborate deception for her parents’ benefit, in which she is supposed to be going to France with a female college friend. The friend has even been provided with pre-written letters home from Kate.

At first the occupation of the house is idyllic. Danny, Kate and Simon spend long days idling in the garden. Kate does her best to cook for them, but the results are pretty poor. Simon has a car, so they can take a number of days off. One day they go on a long trip to the seaside. On the beach they are approached by a beautiful girl who introduces herself as Trudie. The boys are charmed with her and are somehow inveigled into inviting her to stay at the house. Kate is jealous and suspicious, but hopes she will become a partner for Simon and leave Danny alone. Their lives are certainly enhanced by Trudie’s excellent cooking.

In the present, Kate is still trying to fob Mrs. Ivanisovic off, and her two swimming friends (who are no more than casual acquaintances) are becoming increasingly curious about Kate. Kate’s youthful character is gradually revealed as grudging and suspicious. She is jealous of Trudie’s interest in Danny, but when she finds out that Danny has told his parents that she and Danny are thinking of getting engaged, she is furious. Both Simon and Trudie clearly have secrets of their own.

Kate eventually goes to see Mrs. Ivanisovic, who is dying and is still looking for an explanation as to why her much loved son committed suicide.

This book is in many ways a real page-turner. At the back of the house is a wood where a young woman was murdered in the 1920’s. Trudie, who considers herself to be psychic, claims to see the ghost of the murdered woman and insists on holding a séance, but it is she who ends up terrified, saying that the face of the murdered woman is her own.

This is a powerful, well-written novel, with a strong psychological element, and I can certainly recommend it.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Janes usually writes non-fiction, this is her first published work of fiction, and a very good first novel too. Janes is quite obviously an experienced author, the book is well-written and although quite slow at the start, soon packs up the pace, she weaves a great story and I found myself reading faster and faster towards the end.

The story is told in flash-backs by Kate, a middle-aged single retired teacher. Kate has received a letter out of the blue from the mother of a boy spent the summer of 1972 with. She recounts the story of that summer which was spent staying in an isolated country house. Initially there were just the three of them; Kate, her boyfriend Danny and his university friend Simon. Then Trudie turns up - mysterious, young, spiritual, she soons changes the whole atmosphere of the house.

There is a certain feeling of dread, impending doom, the thought that something tragic is about to happen. The descriptions of the long, hot summer days, the old dusty house and the assorted and quite different characters work so well.

I enjoyed every page of this thriller, slow-paced but well told and it makes you wonder just how well do you know anyone?

Due to be published in April 2010.

[Lisa Fairhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read,brilliantly written, couldn't put it down. Very atmospheric, I was completely drawn in as the story of events from a long-ago summer unfolded. Freedom, first love, deception, death....

[scherzo♫ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Danny ("I always get what I want."), Katy ("I'll go along if that's what you want."), Simon ("Sometimes people can't even see what's under their own noses.") & Trudie ("Try it, you'll like it.") and how they spent their summer break.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Kate Mayfield receives a letter from Mrs Ivanisovic, she realises that the secret she has kept for more than thirty years is not so safe as she imagined. Haunted by the echoes of a vanished summer which changed her life for ever, Kate is forced to confront memories she would rather forget...a dead white face in a flickering beam, not flinching when the soil hit it...Mrs Ivanisovic is dying and demands to be told the truth, but is Kate's story of love, lies and murder really what Mrs Ivanisovic wants to hear? And how much does she herself already know? The danger is always there that a secret is going to find a way out...

My Thoughts:

The story is told by Kate and flits between present day where she is now retired and the summer of 1972 where she stayed with her boyfriend Danny, and his friend Simon. Along the way they pick up Trudie, then everything changes.

What I liked about this book is that at the end of each section I was left with wanting to know what was going to happen next. It offers many twists and turns with a very unexpected ending. I did remind me very much of the film ‘Shallow Grave’.

I really enjoyed this book which was very easy to read and I did want to keep turning the pages to see how it was going to end and enjoyed Katy’s narrative as she was very chatty. I would highly recommend this book and I am going to search out more by Diane Janes.

[Gail Spolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mystery. It kept my interest as the story unfolded although there were aspects of it that I was able to see coming but the secrets were gradually revealed as Kate recounted the events of that fateful summer.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very suspenseful page-turner, though very low-key and not full of action. It's very British in every way, which I also enjoyed.

[killjoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that if she lives a long life, she will be a cool old person. Trudie deserves better.

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pull of The Moon is probably the perfect example of why a Kindle has been good for my reading habits; I really don’t think I would have come across this had it not been for having my Kindle and it isn’t a genre of novel I tend to go for either. One of the habits I’m getting into, especially in the ‘late at night, can’t sleep, can’t quite be bothered to read’ bits of time, is to comb through the best seller lists on there, the recommendations and the new books that have been released too. Quite often, there are temporary free books within those lists and I’ve taken to hoarding them when I see them; I’m not averse to spending a little if I see something on a big discount too and there are plenty that fall into that category if you keep an eye out. I do have a rule that new authors need at least 6 reviews and at least 4 starts though, to avoid buying stuff I don’t have much chance of enjoying. It would be easy to spend a LOT on a Kindle without thinking anything of it, so I’m being strict :lol:

I’m still struggling to pigeon hole The Pull of the Moon. It is written by someone who also does historical murder mysteries, so I guess it lends itself to that, for one; it isn’t chick lit, though it does centre around a girl and a relationship, it is psychological thriller but it isn’t gut clenching stuff because it is narrated by the main character as a retrospective narrative. In fact, the anxiety is taken out of it by knowing from the start by knowing what happens to nearly all of the main protagonists. That doesn’t detract from the story though and there are a good number of plot layers, cleverly done and all intriguing; even with my nose on full alert for potential wail inducing plot lines, the final one wasn’t obvious enough to be a cliché.

Naturally, as all random books do, it had at least 3 spectacular babyloss mum triggers in it, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to anyone in that category unless forewarned is forearmed enough. I’m not really giving any plots away with that, as it isn’t what you’d expect – and it didn’t make me cry, so that was good :)

The end point of a review is probably “would I read it again”, would I look for more by the same author and in my case, would I actively recommend it to my friend Alison ;) – and yes, it would get yes’s in all those cases – so a definite thumbs up.

[Janet O'Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Everything changes. Even Cat Stevens isn’t Cat Stevens any more.’

Retired schoolteacher Kate Mayfield is living the life expected of a single, middle-aged woman. She swims and plays badminton to stay fit, colours her hair and holidays with a widowed school friend. She also has a secret buried deep in her past which a letter from the dying mother of an old flame, Danny, threatens to reveal.

The main action of the book is related in flashbacks to 1972. Telling her parents she’s spending the summer in France, instead 19-year-old Kate travels to Herefordshire with Danny and his friend Simon. They are joined by runaway schoolgirl Trudie, who claims to be psychic and becomes obsessed with a local ghost story.

You know from early on that two of these characters are going to die, yet the author draws you into the story as she recounts the shifting allegiances between them. There is a growing atmosphere of dread, with Trudie the catalyst for events culminating in the violence which haunts Kate to the present day.

The novel seamlessly passes from one time period to the other, and is outstanding in its evocation of the 1970s. Those were the days when girls read ‘Jackie’, both sexes wore cheesecloth and long hair, and ice cream came in blocks. And to appeal further to readers who remember that era, the present-day Kate is sympathetic and, while troubled, has a dry sense of humour about the aggravations of being middle-aged.

Despite the absence of a traditional ‘whodunit’ plot – although there are surprises in store – The Pull of the Moon makes for an intriguing and enjoyable read. Fans of psychological thrillers by Ruth Rendell and Barbara Vine will enjoy it.

[Dawn]

This book was one of the many 'bargain' books stored on my kindle (I got it for £1 in December 2010!).
I was flicking through the beginning of various books as I didn't know what I fancied reading. After reading the first couple of pages of this, it flowed so well that I just carried on - I had found my next book!
It was a quick read. To me, that in itself is an indication that the book is of a certain quality. It moved quickly along with enough interest to keep you reading on...

It is in the format where one chapter is set in the present, and then the next one plunges into the past (not strictly every other chapter, but you get the idea). This reminded me of the Kate Morton books. This technique is more powerful in the Morton books because of (among other things) the time difference being a lot greater, but it is still an effective tool here.

These events in the past of over 30 years ago were to overshadow completely the rest of the lives of the main two characters of the 'present' scenes. It is told from the point of view of the main character Kate Mayfield, an early-retired teacher. It is a very original tale, with a few unexpected twists. I had suspected most of the truth of the outcome towards the end, but I had not guessed everything - so you may get some surprises too!

Although Diane Janes was already an established author, this was apparently her first fiction publication - but I would never have guessed that.

[Downloadangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An sich war der Thriller nicht herausragend, aber er ließ sich gut und flüssig lesen und die aufgebaute Spannung war auch nicht schlecht.
Bis zum Schluss fiebert man mit der Protagonistin mit und wartet darauf, dass gewisse Rätsel endlich gelöst werden und erfährt auch wirklich erst auf den letzten 10 Seiten, was es nun mit allem auf sich hat.
Sehr gut gemacht waren weiterhin die Zeitsprünge, die nicht nur kapitelweise einfach von statten gingen, sondern gut mit der Gegenwart verknüpft wurden. Ebenfalls interessant ist die Tatsache, dass die Hippie-Zeit den Ton des Buches auch merklich bestimmt und den Leser in eine schon einige Jahrzehnte vergangene Welt eintauchen lässt. Dabei wird auch meiner Meinung nach einige Kritik leise angebracht, die sich v.a. gegen Eltern und deren Einstellung von damals richtet.

Mit den Charakteren an sich wurde ich kaum warm, eher mit der Protagonistin von 'heute', da diese mehr Charaktertiefe zu besitzen scheint, als die 4 aus ihrere Vergangenheit zusammen.

Ich würde das Buch jedem an's Herz legen, der eine gute Lektüre für zwischendurch sucht und vielleicht auch noch nicht so viele Thriller gelesen hat, denn meiner Meinung nach waren einige Sachen vorausschaubar, gerade zum Ende hin, da schon im ersten Teil des Werkes genug Andeutungen gemacht wurden.

[Maggie James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read indeed. Diane Janes maintains an incredible tension throughout the novel, as we discover the dark secret Katy Mayfield is so determined not to reveal to the dying Mrs Ivanisovic. The events of a long, hot summer in the early 1970s are played out in a house in Hereford, as Ms Janes skilfully unravels her characters and their often twisted motivations.

The only sour note for me was the frequent references to 'Murdered Agnes', which came across as childish and better suited to teenage fiction. Other than than, this book delivered a satisfying read that engaged my attention all the way through.

[Deborah Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a slow insidious gem of a crime novel, that takes you into the mind of Katy, a middle-aged woman to whom (it is intimated from the outset) something terrible has happened in the past. Trouble is, we don't know exactly what. It takes a deft hand to keep the plot slowly unrolling as each page takes us closer to discovering Katy's secret. This is a superb book, I just coudn't put it down. Great characterisation, and the setting of the 1970's is flawlessly described. If you can remember Slade and Rod Stewart then this book is for you.

[Ruth Downie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbed by an unexpected letter, retired teacher Katy Mayfield has to confront the terrible secrets that she has kept since the long hot summer in the 1970's when she shared a remote country house with student friends.

Janes cleverly builds the tension on two levels as we see the students' relationships disintegrate and the present-day Katy threatened with exposure. The depiction of student life in the 1970's is utterly convincing and Janes' take on the 'country house murder' never degenerates into cliche. A great read.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the sequencing in this book; we are told the story of the past in fragments and flashbacks, I thought the character development was quite poor so I had a lack of empathy with Katy, the main character. It is an interesting read, it's better than the splurge on the back cover would make you believe. It is much darker ending than you would first assume. But it only gets two stars as it was fairly unmemorable. Just ok.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, especially because of the references to Kington which is where some of my family come from, I spent many summers in the 70's and 80'S during childhood holidays and it was my favourite place. The area certainly does have a kind of cosmic charm. With the addition of Cat Stevens songs and then murder, this was an ideal book for me!

[Karelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book by accident. I was about a quarter of the way through when I realized that I had the wrong book. I had intended to read 'The Pull of the Moon' by Elizabeth Berg, but had instead picked up a book with the same title but by a different author. Diane Janes did not disappoint. I enjoyed the author's writing style and the intrigue that she created.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book began slowly, but interesting plot woven between 30 years ago and today. Good character development. Interesting crime novel with some surprising twists. Fun for me to see the use of really British English (we left there 25 years ago).

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many paragraphs I easily identified with, well written. But it is a read for women after menapause and entering into old age. The pull of the moon refers to menstrual cycles. I think I would like Elizbeth better if she did not come across as a man hater.

[Karen Farrant]

Great read! Ideal for a summer's day. I devoured this book in 24 hours. Reminded me of my student days. Loved the main characters - Danny, Simon and the female lead. I never predicted who was straight and who was not, who was good and who was evil! Enjoyed it to the end.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - one of those surprise quality reads which seems to come out of nowhere. Well-written, captures the atmosphere of England in the mid-1970s very well. The style of the book is similar to early Barbara Vine - particularly A Fatal Inversion.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book some years back and enjoyed it on my first reading. Now in 2022, I re-read and enjoyed it much more. I had forgotten parts, remembered others but my re-read did not spoil my enjoyment. A good story, hateful characters and twists & turns.

I enjoyed this book.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much like Barbara Vine's older books.

[Martin Fautley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of blue-remembered hills story about murder(s) committees whilst still a student many years before. Dual narrative, past and present works quite well, and story proceeds at a good pace.

[Rachel Nowakowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Half read this book before and then picked it up because I liked the cover. Depressing!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book...suspense to the end!

[Bücherplanet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr spannender Krimi.

[Jamie]

May 1