Every Contact Leaves A Trace
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Review
"Elanor Dymott’s gorgeous debut novel is a murder mystery that’s also a brilliant meditation on love and memory and loss. Like the Robert Browning poems her characters read at Oxford, the book is spooky, lovesick, dark, and lush, its narrator circling obsessively back on the death at its heart"--Maile Meloy
"An irresistible blast of an opening which never disappoints in a journey into a complex knot of intense and ultimately destructive relationships from which the murder that is the dark core of this excellent debut novel distills"--Jon Snow
"A beautiful, lucid nightmare of a book. A mystery of love and murder that is elegantly written, disturbing, always compelling, and lingers long in the mind"--Adam Foulds
"A literary thriller wrapped up in a whodunnit love story, Elanor Dymott's debut makes for compulsive reading. The complexity of the plot put me in mind of The Secret History; it deserves to reach just as wide an audience"--John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
"...beautifully paced, from the graphic event at its start through all its shifting possibilities to its strange, logical conclusion. It is a marvellous book"--Bernard O’Donoghue
"A stunning first novel. Alex’s almost reluctant, heartbreaking search for truth sweeps you off your feet from the first page to the last line. Elanor pulls off that rare feat of telling a riveting story with emotional drama and lyrical prose, and takes you confidently through all the twists and turns of the various testimonies without for a second losing the sense of mystery and suspense. There’s a marvelous sense of place in the book, and clever management of time. I hope it gets all the success it deserves"--Miranda Hearn, author of Nelson’s Daughter
"An irresistible blast of an opening which never disappoints in a journey into a complex knot of intense and ultimately destructive relationships from which the murder that is the dark core of this excellent debut novel distills"--Jon Snow
"A beautiful, lucid nightmare of a book. A mystery of love and murder that is elegantly written, disturbing, always compelling, and lingers long in the mind"--Adam Foulds
"A literary thriller wrapped up in a whodunnit love story, Elanor Dymott's debut makes for compulsive reading. The complexity of the plot put me in mind of The Secret History; it deserves to reach just as wide an audience"--John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
"...beautifully paced, from the graphic event at its start through all its shifting possibilities to its strange, logical conclusion. It is a marvellous book"--Bernard O’Donoghue
"A stunning first novel. Alex’s almost reluctant, heartbreaking search for truth sweeps you off your feet from the first page to the last line. Elanor pulls off that rare feat of telling a riveting story with emotional drama and lyrical prose, and takes you confidently through all the twists and turns of the various testimonies without for a second losing the sense of mystery and suspense. There’s a marvelous sense of place in the book, and clever management of time. I hope it gets all the success it deserves"--Miranda Hearn, author of Nelson’s Daughter
Book Description
Part love story, part murder-mystery, this is an extraordinary debut, guaranteed to make your heart beat faster and faster...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
We learn from the prologue that the narrator, Oxford educated lawyer, Alex's wife has been murdered. We also know that Alex knew little of his wife, Rachel's past, particularly of the time that they spent together at Worcester College. This is critical in understanding who may have killed her, and why. What follows is Alex learning about this hidden past. Every Contact Leaves a Trace" is partly a thriller and partly a whodunnit although the structure adopted by Elanor Dymott is somewhat unusual.
Debut novelist Dymott read English at Oxford before qualifying as a lawyer. Her novel is set largely in the English faculty of an Oxford college and the narrator is a qualified lawyer. It's not surprising therefore that there is a level of authenticity to her prose. Perhaps less of a given is the quality of the writing which is compelling and lucid with dark overtones.
Brilliant, hedonistic students at Oxbridge colleges have an inherent glamour and fascination for many readers and in this regard, Dymott doesn't let the reader down. However, by setting events in the past and the story in the re-visiting of that history, the book isn't quite the UK equivalent of the ever-popular US style "campus fiction" story, although in many ways there are similarities with the core characters consisting of Rachel's two fellow tutorial students and their kindly tutor, Harry.
Early on the book swings back and forth in time, including Alex's own childhood although this particular thread doesn't seem particularly relevant or revealing. However, it is to Dymott's credit that this time jumping isn't particularly disorientating.
While it is a mystery / whodunnit story at heart, it's not really a case of Alex searching around for different clues to what happened. For much of the book the heart of the story comes to him while he is literally sitting in an armchair in the form of reported evidence from the tutor, Harry. Although this isn't the whole story, it's difficult to escape the sense that the reader feels one step removed in that the story is reported by the narrator who is having the story reported to him. It's one thing if the narrator appears affected by these events, but he isn't really. He seems curiously dispassionate about the revelations.
Yet for all that, the heart of the story of what occurred in the student days is a compelling story and nicely twisted and disturbing. There's an intensity in the relationships that is well brought out which suggests that Dymott will be an interesting author to look out for in the future.
Debut novelist Dymott read English at Oxford before qualifying as a lawyer. Her novel is set largely in the English faculty of an Oxford college and the narrator is a qualified lawyer. It's not surprising therefore that there is a level of authenticity to her prose. Perhaps less of a given is the quality of the writing which is compelling and lucid with dark overtones.
Brilliant, hedonistic students at Oxbridge colleges have an inherent glamour and fascination for many readers and in this regard, Dymott doesn't let the reader down. However, by setting events in the past and the story in the re-visiting of that history, the book isn't quite the UK equivalent of the ever-popular US style "campus fiction" story, although in many ways there are similarities with the core characters consisting of Rachel's two fellow tutorial students and their kindly tutor, Harry.
Early on the book swings back and forth in time, including Alex's own childhood although this particular thread doesn't seem particularly relevant or revealing. However, it is to Dymott's credit that this time jumping isn't particularly disorientating.
While it is a mystery / whodunnit story at heart, it's not really a case of Alex searching around for different clues to what happened. For much of the book the heart of the story comes to him while he is literally sitting in an armchair in the form of reported evidence from the tutor, Harry. Although this isn't the whole story, it's difficult to escape the sense that the reader feels one step removed in that the story is reported by the narrator who is having the story reported to him. It's one thing if the narrator appears affected by these events, but he isn't really. He seems curiously dispassionate about the revelations.
Yet for all that, the heart of the story of what occurred in the student days is a compelling story and nicely twisted and disturbing. There's an intensity in the relationships that is well brought out which suggests that Dymott will be an interesting author to look out for in the future.
17 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"If you were to ask me to tell you about my wife, I would have to warn you at the outset that I don't know a great deal about her. Or at least, not as much as I thought I did."
So starts this brilliant novel which is first person narrated by Alex Petersen, a quiet and thoughtful Oxford educated lawyer who meets, falls in love and marries the vivacious and beautiful Rachel. One Midsummer Night, in the grounds of their alma mater, Worcester College, Oxford, Rachel is found brutally murdered. Totally devastated, Alex can think of no reason for anyone to harm his wife and, suffering from shock and an intense grief, he tries to make sense of what happened to Rachel and why she had to die in such a dreadful manner.
In order to piece together his fragmented knowledge of Rachel's past life, Alex takes a sabbatical from his job and returns to Oxford and to Worcester College with its beautiful gardens, its wooded grounds and its medieval cottages, to spend time with Rachel's former tutor and trusted mentor, Harry. As Alex discusses his wife with Harry and also spends time with Rachel's godmother, Evie, he begins to discover that he did not really know his wife and what started off as a dream is fast becoming more of a nightmare.
This excellent debut novel is a literary thriller that is part murder mystery, part love story, and a totally compelling read. The story is cleverly paced, beautifully written, will pull you in from the first page and will leave you thinking about it after you have turned the last page. As a first book, Elanor Dymott's novel is not without its tiny flaws but, as you can most probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can heartily recommend it.
So starts this brilliant novel which is first person narrated by Alex Petersen, a quiet and thoughtful Oxford educated lawyer who meets, falls in love and marries the vivacious and beautiful Rachel. One Midsummer Night, in the grounds of their alma mater, Worcester College, Oxford, Rachel is found brutally murdered. Totally devastated, Alex can think of no reason for anyone to harm his wife and, suffering from shock and an intense grief, he tries to make sense of what happened to Rachel and why she had to die in such a dreadful manner.
In order to piece together his fragmented knowledge of Rachel's past life, Alex takes a sabbatical from his job and returns to Oxford and to Worcester College with its beautiful gardens, its wooded grounds and its medieval cottages, to spend time with Rachel's former tutor and trusted mentor, Harry. As Alex discusses his wife with Harry and also spends time with Rachel's godmother, Evie, he begins to discover that he did not really know his wife and what started off as a dream is fast becoming more of a nightmare.
This excellent debut novel is a literary thriller that is part murder mystery, part love story, and a totally compelling read. The story is cleverly paced, beautifully written, will pull you in from the first page and will leave you thinking about it after you have turned the last page. As a first book, Elanor Dymott's novel is not without its tiny flaws but, as you can most probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can heartily recommend it.
12 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a cleverly constructed plot that draws on the distinctive atmosphere of the college itself(I was at Worcester too and I found its evocation both accurate and even moving)and creates interesting and plausible version of student life. It is essentially a whodunnit and if one of the features of a successful one is spinning out the denouement right until the end, then it works well. But for me it was simply too convoluted, too long, wih a narrator who was hard to empathise with (she overdoes the victim state and the passivity)and a completely screwed up don whose credibility is the key to the whole plot but who emerges as a rather pathetic figure. The critical event is ultimately a crime of passion and the different potential motivations of the key players evetually emerge, but it just d.r.a.g.s... The "traces" theme reminds me of the Sebastian Faulks novel and I have similar reservations about that! But I'll read her again.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tedious self absorbed and lacking direction
Wow, never thought I'd be in the minority but what a massive waste of my life! Talk about pulling teeth! Read more
Published 2 days ago by VCH
Not engaging
I am sorry to be at odds with most of the other reviewers but I found this book overlong, unenegaging and unrealistic. None of the characters are well drawn. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Rm52
Compelling debut novel
I enjoyed Donna Tartt's The Secret History very much, and purchased this book having read previous reviews drawing parallels between the two. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Jenny Anne
less momentous than I'd hoped it would be
Alex's newly married wife is murdered after a dinner at Worcester High Table, during a visit to her former tutor at her Oxford college. Read more
Published 15 days ago by William Jordan
Every contact leaves a trace
I thouroughly enjoyed everything about this book.
The characters came alive for me and it was interesting to see how their own backgrounds had influenced the events... Read more
The characters came alive for me and it was interesting to see how their own backgrounds had influenced the events... Read more
Published 15 days ago by lindylicious
Really misleading title
Most people picking up this book would probably assume that it is a forensic-based thriller, and they'd be completely wrong. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Peter Smith
The febrile cloisters of Oxbridge
I was pulled towards this from reading an excellent review by another reviewer, Roman Clodia, comparing it to 2 other novels, a Du Maurier, and Donna Tartt's first novel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lady Fancifull
Great read!!!
This is a fantastic whodunnit novel with a moving love story at the centre.
A page turner. The style is fluid so you don't even notice turning the pages until you get to the... Read more
A page turner. The style is fluid so you don't even notice turning the pages until you get to the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by tawanda
Dark and brooding psychological thriller with literary overtones
Alex and Rachel return to their Oxford college and by the end of the night Rachel is dead. Unable to deal with his grief, Alex is drawn into investigating Rachel's past life,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Roman Clodia
Murder, love, jealousy and obsession in Oxford
Elanor Dymott read English at Oxford and worked as a finance lawyer. Her knowledge of both worlds has been skillfully combined to write this dark and compelling novel, a murder... Read more
Published 1 month ago by I Readalot
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