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A Crime in the Neighborhood
 
 

A Crime in the Neighborhood (Hardcover)

by Suzanne Berne (Author) "In 1972 Spring Hill was as safe a neighborhood as you could find near an East Coast city, one of those instant subdivisions where brick..." (more)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Viking (28 May 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0670879800
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670879809
  • Product Dimensions: 18.6 x 13.5 x 2.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,117,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #5 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Berne, Suzanne

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

A murdered boy, a runaway husband, a family spinning out of control-- Suzanne Berne's A Crime in the Neighbourhood is no ordinary coming-of-age novel. The narrator of this dark tale of 1970s suburbia is 10-year-old Marsha, who lives with her mother and older twin siblings in a suburb of Washington, D.C. In the spring of 1972, a young boy is molested, murdered and then dumped behind a shopping mall. That the child was not particularly likeable is just one of Berne's deviations from the expected, as clear-eyed Marsha recalls the boy's many character flaws, even as she relates the details of an undeniably horrifying crime. Though murder is the most visible crime in Marsha's neighbourhood, it is by no means the only one; when Marsha's father and aunt run off together, their enormous betrayal sends Marsha's mother into a tailspin and Marsha into a strange dalliance with Mr. Green, the neighbour next door.

A Crime in the Neighbourhood is a deft and provocative first novel that turns many of the coming-of-age conventions on their heads. There is nothing sepia tinted about Marsha's recollections of her childhood--the lives of 10-year-olds are mired in the mistakes of adults and the cruelties of other children. The pitiless eye Marsha brings to bear on the friends family, and acquaintances of her youth makes A Crime in the Neighbourhood an unusual and worthwhile read.



Product Description

When the murdered body of a local boy is found in the woods, suspicions transform young Marsha's once-secure neighbourhood. Marsha begins to watch her neighbours and when Mr Green, the shy bachelor from next-door, takes an interest in her mother, Marsha is drawn into a cruel chain of events.

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First Sentence
In 1972 Spring Hill was as safe a neighborhood as you could find near an East Coast city, one of those instant subdivisions where brick split-levels and two-car garages had been planted like cabbages on squares of quiet green lawn. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Part rite-de-passage, part crime-story, 4 Mar 2002
By A Customer
Part rite-de-passage, part crime-story this is a beautifully-written and evocative novel.
In the early pages the details of the crime are outlined and immediately the "whodunnit" aspect which will be sustained to the last page is in place. But the novel soon settles down to depict one summer in the life of a young and sensitive girl and it is the beautiful language which primarily carries us through the pages. Our heroine is young and solitary, almost a spectator at her own life and we get her version of that summer in suburban Baltimore: the reactions in the neighbourhood, the drama in her own family, her sense of estrangement from her fellow-beings (her friend Luanne, her father and siblings, her neighbour Mr Green).
The book is superb throughout.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Touching - Atmospheric - Excellent, 16 Mar 2002
By A Customer
A Crime in the Neighbourhood is a superb achievement. It captures the atmosphere of 70's suburbia through a child eyes with incredible precision. The title of the book indicates 'a' crime but really there are many. Boyd Ellison's murder, the narrator's father's affair, the unfolding Watergate scandal (this is a Washington suburb) all bounce off each other throughout the novel and within Marsha's mind.

What struck me most though was a profound feeling of longing that this novel captures. Marsha's longing to understand her father's affair. Her longing to understand the murder and above all a longing to understand people. As these desires cannot be satisfied it is a book that contains a lot of sadness.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Eating Goldfish from the bottom of your soul, 16 April 1999
By A Customer
A crime in the neighbourhood is a truly timeless piece of writing. It evokes a feeling of the era, the geography and the people of Washington D.C. with the greatest of ease. The haunting anticipated terror that bubbles slowly beneath the plot makes the reading of this book a beautiful part of the day to look forward to. Inspiring, voluptuous, indicative, coasting & thundering are the word that best describe the eloquent and truly beautiful vision that is Suzzanne Berne's book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A Crime In The Neighbourhood
I didn't particularly enjoy this book. All the characters came across as unpleasant, and the book just meandered along without really going anywhere. Read more
Published 16 months ago by gerty guinea

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful prose, evocative mystery and strange enough to make it stand out from the crowd
This is a strange little story - little in several ways: it's short, has a narrow range of characters and, despite its disturbing themes of wasted lives and irretrivable mistakes,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Rivercassini

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy, light and great
When I read the synopsis on the back cover I thought I was in for a terrific, chilling and gripping tale. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2005 by Great Scot

2.0 out of 5 stars I persevered with this book but wish I hadn't
I had high expectations of this book from the fly cover and indeed, it started off well, with pace and a good feeling of time and place but as each chapter progressed I kept... Read more
Published on 8 May 2005 by Chris Street

4.0 out of 5 stars a very rewarding read
very well written and a breeze to read through as it is very intersted. The main character is depicted extremely well and there is a close afinity created between her and the... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2003 by winnie101uk

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak and Disappointing
When I read the synopsis of this book I felt it had huge potential and when I had finished it all I was left with was a bad taste in my mouth. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2001 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley

2.0 out of 5 stars Deftly written, but lacking any psychological conviction.
This novel begins well and is deftly written, with some passages that do evoke forgotten corners of childhood. Read more
Published on 26 Jun 1999

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