- Mass Market Paperback: 217 pages
- Publisher: Penguin USA (a)(Mm); Reprint edition (Oct 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140104771
- ISBN-13: 978-0140104776
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,528,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Suspect is an absorbing, short book about the aftermath of a crime, set in Sechelt, a small town on the beautiful-sounding Sunshine Coast of Canada. The elderly George Lomax, we are led to believe, kills another octogenarian, Carlyle Burke, by hitting him on the head with a shell casing. Shaken, George goes home, but becomes worried about the fate of the dead man's parrot, so returns to the house, "discovers" the body and calls the police.
Staff Sergeant Karl Ahlberg of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the senior office in Sechelt and hence in charge of the investigation. He's a taciturn man, divorced with two daughters who are both at university in Calgary. He is unfulfilled in his unaccustomed solitary state, and so has taken to answering personal ads in an attempt to find female companionship. By this method, he meets Cassandra, the local librarian, an independent, 40-year-old woman who is a friend of George's.
The police investigation forms the framework of the novel, but what brings it to life is the depiction of George, Karl and Cassandra as they all deal with their separate lonelinesses in their different ways. In addition, the book presents a picture of life in this (I am convinced!) beautiful region of Canada which sounds wonderful, not least in its almost year-round warm climate and the enticingly described lush vegetation. In its treatment of a local community and the effects of a crime on the assumed perpetrator, rather than on the more conventional puzzle of whodunnit, the book is absorbing, partly because the author does not push the concept too far in keeping the whole thing short and focused. The underlying reasons for the crime, some of which reach back far into the past, and others of which are subtly presented and left for the reader to deduce, conspire to create a haunting whole. The psychological insights provided, together with the sharply observed characterisations of Karl and Cassandra, leave the reader eager to read more of the series.
Staff Sergeant Karl Ahlberg of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the senior office in Sechelt and hence in charge of the investigation. He's a taciturn man, divorced with two daughters who are both at university in Calgary. He is unfulfilled in his unaccustomed solitary state, and so has taken to answering personal ads in an attempt to find female companionship. By this method, he meets Cassandra, the local librarian, an independent, 40-year-old woman who is a friend of George's.
The police investigation forms the framework of the novel, but what brings it to life is the depiction of George, Karl and Cassandra as they all deal with their separate lonelinesses in their different ways. In addition, the book presents a picture of life in this (I am convinced!) beautiful region of Canada which sounds wonderful, not least in its almost year-round warm climate and the enticingly described lush vegetation. In its treatment of a local community and the effects of a crime on the assumed perpetrator, rather than on the more conventional puzzle of whodunnit, the book is absorbing, partly because the author does not push the concept too far in keeping the whole thing short and focused. The underlying reasons for the crime, some of which reach back far into the past, and others of which are subtly presented and left for the reader to deduce, conspire to create a haunting whole. The psychological insights provided, together with the sharply observed characterisations of Karl and Cassandra, leave the reader eager to read more of the series.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
38 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Superb!
28 Dec 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a wonderful, near perfect crime novel: a beautifully crafted story about murder, and evil that is perhaps worse than murder. The characters are all memorable. You will not find a more sympathetic murderer in all of literature. The author expertly leads you to a conclusion that is both satisfying and disturbing. Top notch, this ranks among my favorite mystery novels. A must read.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Untraditional murder mystery
20 April 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I came across the third book in this mystery series at a used book sale but wanted to read all of them in order in case they turned out to be good. I'm glad I did. This book is not so much a murder mystery as it is a character study of individuals touched by murder: the perpetrator, his friend, and the cop intent on solving the crime. All are involved in an uneasy relationship and Wright does a wonderful job of conveying the emotions and thoughts of all of them as they lead themselves to the inevitable discovery of why the murder happened.
I've started the second book and it is equally as absorbing. Wright is a wonderful storyteller.
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
A Great Start
14 July 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A friend just recently introduced me to RCMP Staff Sergeant Karl Alberg and the lovely librarian Cassandra Mitchell. I love mysteries so I was disappointed when in the first chapter I learned the identity of the murderer. But the characters are so well crafted that I was hooked. The setting on the sunshine coast of Canada is unique. The plot is not so much of a 'who done it' but rather a 'why'. The motive is doled out a crumb at a time. This first book in the series has me hunting for the others.
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