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Amazon.co.uk Review
Many readers are admirers of the kind of crime narrative in which the central character is a police inspector or private detective. But the most cutting emotional insights are to be found in the crime novels in which the protagonists are ordinary people caught up in events that transform (or even destroy) their lives. And these books most closely rival serious literature in depth and psychological penetration. Minette Walters has made a speciality of this field, and it's hardly surprising that she is an enthusiastic backer of Julie Parsons, whose novel Eager to Please is one of the most astringent and involving entries in this field in many a year.
Parsons has demonstrated her skills before in such powerfully wrought books as Mary, Mary and The Courtship Gift, but this new book demonstrates that her writing has acquired a rich new dimension of complexity and authority.
Her protagonist Rachel Beckett has been in prison for 12 years for the murder of her husband Martin--and has spent the time protesting her innocence. The greatest torment for her has been the knowledge that another woman has raised her daughter Amy, and that (at the age of 17) Amy wants to cut all ties with her biological mother. When Rachel is freed, she has a single agenda: to revenge herself on her brother-in-law Daniel who she claims fired the shot that killed her husband.
As a picture of an obsessed heroine, Eager to Please would be hard to beat, particularly as Parsons cleverly balances the two fixed ideas in her heroine's mind: the resentment at having her much-loved child taken from her, and the sense of burning injustice at being in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Rachel is a complex and multifaceted character, and as the revelations of the plot continue to pull the ground from beneath the reader's feet, the pleasures of the novel grow ever richer. The author is sharp, too, on the Dublin locales, which are atmospherically created, and the remorseless energy of the heroine (even though, at times, she's hard to like) makes this an exemplary thriller, delivered with real style. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A Remarkable New Novel of Psychological Suspense... This is a Humdinger of a Story and Truly Scary. An Author to Watch.' Publishing News; 'A classy, riveting suspense by a writer who deserves to be up with the big names of crime fiction - Walters, Vine et al.' Bookseller; 'Brilliant. A star in the making.' Minette Walters; 'One of those rare authors who can successfully combine psychological insight, literary style and heart-stopping suspense.' Jeffrey Deaver
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I just bought this a couple of days ago because the cover looked really atmospheric and the description made it sound just like the sort of book I like...Barbara Vine, PD James etc. I started and couldn't stop. Julie Parsons is BRILLIANT (as Minette Walters says on the cover)...she's very good at evoking a sense of place and character's inner turmoil. But she's also a master of building up suspense. I haven't read her before but I see that she's written two other novels...I'm going to get them straight away. I can't recommend this too highly!!!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Just in case there's somebody who's waiting for recommends from Germany to buy this book. ;-) I do entirely agree with the reader from East End London - this book is brilliant!
I bought it a few days ago in a little bookshop in Jever (Friesland) to improve my English. There have still a few chapters left to be read but I couldn't wait to drop a few lines.
Just read the words which describe how Rachel cares for her daughter, how much she sufferes as it is not allowed her to see her daugther after 12 years in prison. How she puts up with the conditions which are imposed to her. Rachel must be lovely!
But: Gentleness is the unusual calmness whilest planning really effective vengeance (Ambrose Bierce)
Indeed: There is a silent peal of thunder in the distance ...
(Sorry for any mistakes, thanks)
I bought it a few days ago in a little bookshop in Jever (Friesland) to improve my English. There have still a few chapters left to be read but I couldn't wait to drop a few lines.
Just read the words which describe how Rachel cares for her daughter, how much she sufferes as it is not allowed her to see her daugther after 12 years in prison. How she puts up with the conditions which are imposed to her. Rachel must be lovely!
But: Gentleness is the unusual calmness whilest planning really effective vengeance (Ambrose Bierce)
Indeed: There is a silent peal of thunder in the distance ...
(Sorry for any mistakes, thanks)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are so many books that claim to be 'unputdownable' and, while I don't think that this quite hits that mark, it's a wonderfuly devious story which - unusually - delivers right to the end! I think that what makes it so strong is the fact that one cares so much about Rachel - the main character. By the end, I slowed down to relish the last few pages.
Great stuff! Not Dickens, but a wonderful way to pass a few hours.
Great stuff! Not Dickens, but a wonderful way to pass a few hours.
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