A Sleep and a Forgetting (Hardcover)

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Review
MORTAL REMAINS: 'I loved this very Goddardesque mystery...Definitely an author to watch' Sarah Broadhurst, The Bookseller 'No-one can accuse Gregory Hall of depriving readers of excitement in his riveting new novel...Nothing is as it seems in this compelling tale' Oxford Mail THE DARK BACKWARD: 'A highly impressive debut...wonderfully atmospheric with a hazy mist of violence and regret reminiscent of Barbara Vine' Sunday Times 'A splendid pacy blend of romance, thriller and scientific mystery with a compellingly intricate plot' Robert Goddard

If you thought Dick Francis was the master of scintillating first paragraphs, wait until you read this one. Hall plunges straight into the action and never lets his readers' attention falter. Catriona Turville, an academic specializing in the Romantic poets, is knocked out of her well-ordered stride on receiving a suicide letter from sister Flora. The sisters have always been close despite their widely differing personalities. While stuffy, London-dwelling Catriona allows nothing to come between her and the classics, Flora has lived a life of apparent rural contentment in the Cotswolds with her husband and daughter. On receiving the suicide note, a stunned Catriona dashes off to the Cotswolds only to find no trace of Flora either alive or dead. That is when the complex plot really begins to develop. The two sisters have a shared secret on which the mystery hinges. Catriona has spent most of her adult life trying to forget that childhood experience but now, with Flora missing, the past will not remain buried. Hall shows throughout why he has built a strong reputation as one of our most innovative thriller writers. This is a worthy follow-up to The Dark Backward, which reached the Crime Writers' Association John Creasey Memorial Dagger shortlist. As in that book he has created a spooky story around characters who are not always what they seem. His sense of place and of English sensibilities are especially acute, and his powers of description are second to none in creating atmosphere. The story is a gripping one although Hall's style will not be to everyone's taste. He is fond of long, convoluted sentences and some of the dialogue comes across as dated - the sort of snobspeak that surely never survived the 1930s. If you can live with those drawbacks, the story will hold you in thrall. This is good, powerful fiction with a literary edge. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
A suicide letter from a young woman with apparently everything to live for plunges her sister into an investigation which reveals the shared past they had worked so hard to conceal. In this complex mystery which will delight all fans of Robert Goddard, the horrors of the past disrupt the lives of two sisters - and of everyone who is close to them. Catriona is a well-respected academic, specialising in the Romantic Poets at a prestigious London college. Everything revolves around her work, leaving no space for personal relationships. She's the exact opposite of her sister Flora, who enjoys a rural existence in the Cotswolds with her scientist husband and teenage daughter. Then Catriona receives Flora's suicide letter. Catriona races to the picturesque village, but there is no body to be found. Has Flora really killed herself, or is this an excuse to vanish -and if so, why? The sisters have spent their adult lives trying to bury what happened in their childhood, but Catriona must now face a very different kind of oblivion before the truth comes out.

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2 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars into the maze without a map, 3 May 2007 By  David Spanswick (Brighton United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)       This review is from: A Sleep and a Forgetting (Paperback) this will keep you guessing from the first paragraph to the last, Mr Hall has constructed what at first looks a deceptively simple mystery story but as it evolves there is shock after shock until the final denoument that will leave you gasping. I truly havent read anything this gripping and unputdownable in a very long time. The ambience of the Cotswold setting will lure you into thinking you have a "cozy" in your hands but that is not so. I dare you to read it and not be totally satisfied Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5.0 out of 5 stars A total stunner, 10 Dec 2007 By  Rottweiler "Jumbo" (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews This review is from: A Sleep and a Forgetting (Paperback) I first discovered Gregory Hall back in 1996 with his first and much-acclaimed novel "The Dark Backwards" - one of the best and most chilling thrillers I have ever read. His next 2 novels, although also good, were in my opinion not quite up to the same level. But that was until I recently read "A Sleep and a Forgetting". Not only is it up to the same standard as TDB, but is even better; certainly one of the best books I have read this year. The story commences when Catriona Turville, a brilliant and dedicated but remote and mistrustful university professor with a paranoid dislike of human contact, receives a suicide letter from her sister Flora, a housewife living what appears to be an idyllic existence with her scientist husband & teenage daughter in a Gloucestershire village. From the very beginning of the book, we know that both sisters share a dark secret from their childhood which has haunted them for ever. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Not believing that her sister could possibly be dead, Catriona decides to investigate - and opens up a veritable Pandora's box. The story twists and turns brilliantly, as the author uncovers, layer after layer, with shocks and red herrings galore, both mysteries. The characters are extremely believable - I personally did not like Catriona at the beginning, but grew to love her by the end! If you are a fan of the psychological thriller, this book is a total stunner! Well done, Gregory Hall. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 2 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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