- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books (3 Feb 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743221451
- ISBN-13: 978-0743221450
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,577,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
An atmospheric and sinister debut novel of psychological suspense. Peter is a planning officer at Nottingham City Council. Every day, as he boards the bus for work, he notices a girl who gets on at the same stop and spends the journey scribbling furiously in a battered notebook. One day she doesn't get off at her usual stop, but dashes off to the railway station instead, leaving her notebook on the bus. Peter picks it up and starts to read. When the girl (Sophie) goes missing and the police are called in, Peter, having read her journal, knows more about her than anyone else. He also knows that the truth about what finally happened to Sophie is a truth he must keep entirely to himself.
About the Author
Born in Bedford in 1973, 28-year-old Clare Littleford used to work at Nottingham City Council, in the housing department, before taking an MA in Writing at Nottingham Trent University. She now works for a lottery-funded community development project in inner city Nottingham. BEHOLDEN is Clare's first novel.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a fan of psychological thrillers, any novel described as dealing with ‘lies, obsession, infatuation and its terrible consequences’ interests me – and this unsettling tale more than lived up to the summary on the back cover.
The story cuts between the narration of the main character, Peter, and entries in the diary of a girl who drops her notebook on the bus just before going missing. Exactly what has caused her to abandon everything and disappear? As Peter slowly reads the diary it yields up details about events in the missing girl’s life – including hints as to just why she felt the need to run away. However these clues never fully explain her behaviour or where she has gone and Peter, concerned for her well being, is compelled to approach her friends and family in a quest for the truth. As his investigation leads him to ever more dark places, Peter’s life starts fragmenting too.
A sinister story full of well observed details on life as it shifts from the everyday into far more disturbing territory, and one I couldn't leave alone until I'd reached the very chilling end.
The story cuts between the narration of the main character, Peter, and entries in the diary of a girl who drops her notebook on the bus just before going missing. Exactly what has caused her to abandon everything and disappear? As Peter slowly reads the diary it yields up details about events in the missing girl’s life – including hints as to just why she felt the need to run away. However these clues never fully explain her behaviour or where she has gone and Peter, concerned for her well being, is compelled to approach her friends and family in a quest for the truth. As his investigation leads him to ever more dark places, Peter’s life starts fragmenting too.
A sinister story full of well observed details on life as it shifts from the everyday into far more disturbing territory, and one I couldn't leave alone until I'd reached the very chilling end.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic debut from a very gifted writer. Right from the start the story grips you and you want to find out more.
What I really loved about this story is the way that it moves effortlessly through the different stages all the way to the brilliant climax.
It's nice to read novels about places you know. This is the second Nottingham-based crime novel I have read recently and whilst the other one was awful and I wonder how it got to print, I loved this one. I really liked the carachters and the scenes were set very well. The quality of writing is excellent. This is the sort of book that leaves you chomping at the bit for more. I can't wait for the next book by this author! Fantastic!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The wafer-thin plot is dragged out interminably - largely because the "male" narrator takes an inordinate length of time to read the "victim's" secret diary. Why? If he was that bothered he could've read it in one sitting. But no. And so, along the way, he all but describes the fluff in his navel. Dreary chapter after dreary chapter of his dull, little life pad out this otherwise empty volume ad nauseum.
I have a major problem with the "male" narrator. He is inauthentic. Or perhaps I should say he reads like a woman writing male - and not very well - which indeed he is. The novel might well have been more interesting if the narrator had been a lesbian. At least it would have given it a twist.
How this ever got published, gawd only knows. When we are told that publishers are overwhelmed by submissions and yet this hokum is the best they can come up with? Something is definately wrong somewhere!
I have a major problem with the "male" narrator. He is inauthentic. Or perhaps I should say he reads like a woman writing male - and not very well - which indeed he is. The novel might well have been more interesting if the narrator had been a lesbian. At least it would have given it a twist.
How this ever got published, gawd only knows. When we are told that publishers are overwhelmed by submissions and yet this hokum is the best they can come up with? Something is definately wrong somewhere!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Torturously dull and uneventful
I found this book insipid from start to finish. For anyone who thinks humdrum realism equates to good writing because they can relate it to their own life, I would say who wants... Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2008 by WobblyWellies
Gripping
Beholden hooks you from the very first page and does not let you go. Its a great thriller. Read it.
Published on 25 April 2003
Intriguing, scary, a great debut
I was really impressed by this book - a first novel, but unlike many first novels where I wonder how they ever found a publisher, I think this one is really good. Read more
Published on 13 April 2003
Really cool book
I was given this book for a present and its the best book I've been given for ages. It had me hooked, you won't be able to put it down. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2003
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
