Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHODONIT..., 5 Nov 2002
This is a beautifully written, well nuanced novel of mystery and suspense that seamlessly moves between the past and the present. The past is told through the diaries of a Danish immigrant named Asta, who went to live in Edwardian England with her husband, Rasmus, and two young sons at the turn of the century. Settling down in East London in 1905, her loveless marriage and loneliness drove Asta to keep a journal of her innermost thoughts and experiences. Though married to a man who spent a great deal of time away from home on business and with whom she seemed to have little in common, she added two more children to her family, daughters, Swanny, her favorite, and Maria, the youngest. Asta's lyrically written journals would chronicle her life, her struggles as an immigrant, her hopes and dreams, and her adoration of Swanny. They would also tantalizingly hint at a secret that would, ultimately, impact on her daughter, Swanny, later in life. Over seventy years later, those diaries, all forty nine of them, would be discovered and become a publishing sensation and a bestseller. Within its many pages would lie the missing pieces to a turn of the century murder mystery and the leads to the whereabouts of a missing child, as well as tantalizing clues to the puzzling circumstances surrounding Swanny's birth. This information would lie dormant until nearly a century after Asta first put pen to paper, when Asta's granddaughter, Maria's daughter Ann, would review the diaries and discover not only the secret of Swanny's birth, but the identity of a missing child, as well as that of a killer, who nearly a century earlier had butchered two women. This is a book well worth reading, and one that will command the reader's attention until the very last page is turned.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHODUNIT?..., 14 Sep 2003
This is a beautifully written, well-nuanced novel of mystery and suspense that seamlessly moves between the past and the present. The past is told through the diaries of a Danish immigrant named Asta, who went to live in Edwardian England with her husband, Rasmus, and two young sons at the turn of the century. Settling down in East London in 1905, her loveless marriage and loneliness drove Asta to keep a journal of her innermost thoughts and experiences. Though married to a man who spent a great deal of time away from home on business and with whom she seemed to have little in common, she added two more children to her family, daughters, Swanny, her favorite, and Maria, the youngest. Asta's lyrically written journals would chronicle of her life, her struggles as an immigrant, her hopes and dreams, and her adoration of Swanny. They would also tantalizingly hint at a secret that would, ultimately, impact on her daughter, Swanny, later in life. Over seventy years later, those diaries, all forty nine of them, would be discovered and become a publishing sensation and a bestseller. Within its many pages would lie the missing pieces to a turn of the century murder mystery and the leads to the whereabouts of a missing child, as well as tantalizing clues to the puzzling circumstances surrounding Swanny's birth. This information would lie dormant until nearly a century after Asta first put pen to paper, when Asta's granddaughter, Maria's daughter Ann, would review the diaries and discover not only the secret of Swanny's birth, but the identity of a missing child, as well as that of a killer, who nearly a century earlier had butchered two women. This is a book well worth reading, and one that will command the reader's attention until the very last page is turned.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle, gripping and completely satisfying...., 13 Mar 2001
By A Customer
Barbara Vine is in complete control in "Asta's Book" with a plot and a voice which is totally convincing. There is no hint of melodrama or corny contrivance and the mystery unwinds steadily without sudden shocks and hysterics. The sleuthing is a mixture of digging about in old diaries and rational deductions which are a fresh contrast to the shock tactics and psychobabble of mainstream American murder fiction. There is dense detail and painstaking scene setting reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith at her best but nothing is wasted and the final solution is brilliant while at the same time simple and emotionally satisfying. Stick with this book even if you find it slow at first - it keeps you thinking and it keeps you believing. Vine's best book by some way and better than the Rendell series. It's first rate fiction and top quality writing.
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