- Paperback: 411 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Books; New edition edition (1 May 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553505424
- ISBN-13: 978-0553505429
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.6 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 772,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In the wake of a failed marriage and a misguided love affair, feisty academic Terry Williams moves to Oxford to resume her abandoned doctorate in detective fiction. But her new home was previously the scene of a savage sexual murder, and Terry soon finds the past returning to invade the present.
From the Back Cover
In the wake of a failed marriage and a misguided love affair, feisty academic Terry Williams moves to Oxford to resume her abandoned doctorate in detective fiction. But her new home, a terraced house on quiet Osney Island, was previously the scene of a savage sexual murder, and Terry soon finds the past returning to invade the present with horrific consequences.
A traumatized stray cat which eats its own babies, a famous neighbour involved in a hushed-up sexual scandal, and the discovery of a series of pornographic letters all serve to involve Terry in a mystery more brutal and more elusive than any tackled by the fictional detectives she studies.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent debut novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Poison Tree (Paperback)
This is a stunning book, and is probably the best debut novel i have read in many a moon. Tony Strong's actual writing ability is nothing short of excellent. his wonderful style kept me turning those pages as event followed event. The characters are compelling...not always because they are likeable, but because you just can't help but be fascinated by what's going to happen to them... the plot is great. It is tight, exciting, and intriguing. all through the book the motives arent clear, the reasons, and then, right at the end he hits you with the solution in a really brilliant climax. It's erotic...ok. deeply so, in parts. and i guess that if you dont like that kind of thing, then you probably shouldn't read it. but i found the analysis of all the letters really very interesting. the psyxhology of the novel is spot on, and all the way through Strong gives us little snippets of the analysis of the traditional deteective story, told by the heroine as she lectures on the subkect at university. It's all very interesting. he's packed lots of stuff into this book, and it makes for a really interesting, really chilling read. Right from the beginning i was drawn into the book by the eccentric characters and the extremely realistic portrayal of life in a university. Terry Williams is an interesting character, and her struggles with trying to get her life back on track after a divorce, and the confusion brought about by being unsure of her sexuality, makes for some more interesting reading. This is a very disturbing book, but it is extrememly (EXTREMELY) well written, with a cracker of a plot and an astoundingly assured debut novel. I read an interview with Tony Strong once where he admitted a fondness of reading reviews by the public on sites such as amazon. So Tony, if you see this, well done!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Debut,
By
This review is from: The Poison Tree (Paperback)
This is a good quality piece of crime fiction from an original writer. Emphasis is on characterisation and detail and this is a feature of Strong's writing. We meet bisexual crime fiction lecturer Terry Williams who moves into a house in which a student was recently murdered and swiftly proceeds to start her own investigation into the death. As in most of his books , the plot takes the heroine into the sleazy underbelly of society - in this case swingers networks and cottaging , as a male rapist terrorises Oxford. It's a bit of a whodunnit as we dont know the killers identity until right near the end of the book , but its really a book about characters and the novel slowly builds the tension right up to the gory finale. Well worth a read , but grisly and gruesome subject matter and plenty of sleazy , unpleasant characters , like as in most of Strong's books, which might not be to everyones taste.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stylish, sexy thriller.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Poison Tree (Paperback)
I really liked this book. Tony Strong's take on the traditional crime novel is very smart, very scary and really rather sexy. His female detective, Terry, is a great character; an Oxford academic who gets involved in a vicious murder case whilst she's researching into the literature of female detectives. Ok, so it's a bit postmodern but he get's away with it because the plot's so skillful and the writing so stylish. And it's got a great ending. Highly recommended.
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