Group Read -Under the Harrow Part 3 spoilers welcome

[Ann]

Under the Harrow: Part three Foxes. If the first to post could please briefly summarize to guide the discussion it will be appreciated. Spoilers welcome on this topic for part three of three.

[Sandi]

52 - 66

Nora remembers how she and Rachel got into a fight at the party before Rachel was attacked the next morning and how she did throw a bottle at her.

Nora realizes that Keith and Rachel probably did have an affair but feels she can bait him into doing something thus making the police focus on him again.

The police have seemingly moved on to another case.

The police ask Nora to come to the station and asks her if she knew Rachel was who her boyfriend had an affair with.

Nora calls her old boyfriend to confront him about Rachel. They meet and he admits to sleeping with Rachel. She informs him the police now think of her as a suspect because of this.

The police call Nora in again and go over her drinking habits, old boyfriends, and how long she has been off her meds.

Nora visits where her boyfriend and Rachel had the affair. Nora's friend offers to help her find legal help.

Nora goes to visit Sgt. Lewis at his house. He does not think she killed Rachel.

Nora is determined not to to leave town which she feels would look like an admission of guilt.

Nora walks up and down hoping to encounter Keith with her pepper spray.

The police are waiting for her back at the inn and she is interrogated in earnest.

A duty solicitor visits Nora and explains what could happen to her. Nora feels that she would not do well in court.

The police let Nora know that they found her fingerprints on the banister post where the dog was.

Nora feels like the police are fitting her up but is soon released.

Nora packs up to leave but first looks up what is going on with Paul Wheeler. She learns he has violated parole. Nora calls Sgt. Lewis, who was suspended, and has him call Wheeler in jail. Wheeler tells Lewis that Rachel was his girlfriend.

[Sandi]

67 - 68

Nora encounters Louise, the girl whose boyfriend died, at the cafe/gas station and finds out the boyfriend did not die in the car accident but later from complications. Nora remembers Rachel telling her about the crash and how the boyfriend was an abuser and it was a good thing he died because he would have killed her eventually. Nora calls Rachel's doctor friend to ask if Rachel was one of his nurses. She finds out she was a nurse and the man died of an overdose and had a brother. Nora tells Louise that Rachel broke the latch on his drug drip and Louise confirms it. Nora goes to a friend's house and steals a gun and she and Louise continue on to Stoke to confront the brother. The plan is for Louise to go in and record him hopefully confirming his role. Louise talks with him comes out and tells Nora and they call the police. Nora goes in, points the gun at him, and has him role up his sleeves.

Nora meets her friend at a pub and thinks how she will be all right but will never stop missing her.

[Ann]

Sandi: what an ending and wasn't the murderer's motive a surprise.
as I read on trying to figure out who killed Rachel I didn't have any idea that it was something Rachel did that could put her in peril.
I was resisting, but seriously considering that Nora was completely unreliable and perhaps blacked out and murdered her. The dog somehow held that thinking up though. Killing Rachel in a fit of passion maybe, but the dog..... nope.

[Ann]

Sandi: I also felt that the way Sgt Lewis and Nora got involved was a bit weird, good for Nora to ground her a bit, bad for Lewis, and tainted whether we were getting a clear picture of her.
That the murder likely wouldn't have been solved without Nora's questions and reckless actions underlined for me the question of justice and how often or rarely it occurs.

[Sandi]

Ann wrote: "Sandi: what an ending and wasn't the murderer's motive a surprise.
as I read on trying to figure out who killed Rachel I didn't have any idea that it was something Rachel did that could put her in peril.
I was resisting, but seriously considering that Nora was completely unreliable and perhaps blacked out and murdered her. The dog somehow held that thinking up though. Killing Rachel in a fit of passion maybe, but the dog..... nope..."

Those were my feelings too. Nora as the murderer did seem to be more likely the further we got into the book though I too had some reservations about it.

The ending was a surprise and I am still not sure how I feel about it. Doing the summaries, it did kind of stand out a bit more that were some indications that the auto accident meant more than just local color but, while listening, it seemed to be a bit convenient.

[Ann]

Sandi
It is funny how reviewing print for summaries reveals clues or intentions that weren't as overtly exposed while reading /listening the first time. Even if I didn't think Nora killed Rachel it was starting to seem a real possibility the police thought she had. What a tragedy that would have been if the real murderer hadn't been found. Too many other lives ruined in the wake of this revenge against Rachel.
Sibling loyalty at the core from the start to the finish. I liked that undercurrent subtly tying it together.

[Ann]

Sandi: That is interesting; generally speaking I find audio listening to give me the opportunity to get all of the details, but sometimes not, and lacking easy rereading while driving some things can be missed.
(Especially subtleties)
Sandi wrote: " Doing the summaries, it did kind of stand out a bit more that were some indications that the auto accident meant more than just local color but, while listening, it seemed to be a bit convenient. ..."

[Carol/Bonadie]

I agree with you both that Nora seemed a possible perpetrator the further I got into the book. Part of it was that I didn't sympathize with her particularly and didn't agree with her aggressive pursuit of the murderer. Although as Ann points out, if she hadn't, I'm not sure the murder would have been solved. I also considered she might be an unreliable narrator, as what started as a description of a completely loving relationship between herself and Rachel began to reveal some complexities -- spurts of anger and an ongoing jealousy.

[Carol/Bonadie]

I found the developing "relationship" between Nora and Lewis unconvincing. (Did they really sleep together, as the lead detective accused?) On her part I could see that she would gravitate toward someone sympathetic, particularly someone who was on the inside of the investigation, but I didn't quite see any groundwork laid for Lewis's interest in her, at least not such an interest that he would put his career in jeopardy. I think back to one of Tana French's books where there was such a connection between suspect/witness and lead detective (view spoiler)[Into the Woods (hide spoiler)], and it was such a slowly developed, tension filled plot point that even though I didn't like it I totally bought into it.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Small point, but it completely annoyed me that once Nora was clear she was being questioned as a potential suspect she didn't immediately call her friend to get the number of the defense attorney her mother offered to provide her. This was as Barry, Melodie and Dan would say a TSTL moment.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Sandi wrote: "The ending was a surprise and I am still not sure how I feel about it. Doing the summaries, it did kind of stand out a bit more that were some indications that the auto accident meant more than just local color but, while listening, it seemed to be a bit convenient. .."

Completely agree. I almost never figure out the perpetrator much before the end of a book, but this did seem to be a last minute surprise solution. I too felt that the listening experience created some distance from the details of the case that may have contributed to my surprise, not sure why.

[Sandi]

I also never bought into Lewis and Nora and did not think that they slept together. Lewis was a bit disillusioned but I could not fathom why he would be attracted to Nora as she was presented in the narrative.

Also agree that Nora should have found an attorney as soon as the police started to look at her.

[Ann]

Carol:
It was odd and underscored my feeling that she was coming unhinged. Just leaving her home and moving to the town where Rachel lived indicated that tendency and the way she inserted herself into the investigation may have tipped the police that something was off. Was she that dependent on Rachel for the meaning of her life? Perhaps even with the fighting and especially with the shared search for Rachel's attacker Nora was finding being solo too much to bear.
That Rachel was planning on moving away had led me to believe Rachel might be trying to get away from something and I wondered if it was Nora; but now wonder if she hadn't realized she had gone too far to be safe with her revenge,
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Small point, but it completely annoyed me that once Nora was clear she was being questioned as a potential suspect she didn't immediately call her friend to get the number of the defense attorney h..."

[Ann]

Sandi: I wasn't sure about that either, it was sort of implied as I recall but not definitive. Lewis was off base in my mind even being friends with what turned out to be a suspect in an active case.
Sandi wrote: "I also never bought into Lewis and Nora and did not think that they slept together. Lewis was a bit disillusioned but I could not fathom why he would be attracted to Nora as she was presented in th..."

[Jack]

Nice ending, with a complete surprise. Wrapped up almost too quickly though. It would be nice to know a bit more about the aftermath.
I thought it was a bit weird how nora focused on louise so much but felt it was a support thing having both been through a traumatic experience. I wonder how much louise knew about rachels involvement in callums death and why she didnt let the police know about it.
I too found it hard to see nora as the killer and knowing she was innocent made her more naive in being questioned by police and not having a lawyer present.

[Sandi]

Jack wrote: "Nice ending, with a complete surprise. Wrapped up almost too quickly though. It would be nice to know a bit more about the aftermath.
I thought it was a bit weird how nora focused on louise so much..."

Yeah the quickness of the ending was one of my quibbles and I too would have liked a bit of summing up or something.