Kathryn Croft

I listened to 'The Christmas Party' in a single sitting during a long, slow drive north through mist, fog and darkness. I think it was the only thing that kept me sane.

'The Christmas Party' turned out to be a solid mystery, told mainly in the present day but with crucial flashbacks to the last time everyone had met, on Christmas Eve twelve years earlier. It's a twist on the locked room mystery in that, if there was a murder, then the murderer is one of the six people currently snowed in at show more an isolated lochside house in Scotland. Add in a twist that one of the six has no memory of most of the party twelve years ago and so considers herself a suspect and this becomes a rubrics cube of possible murder suspects.

At the start of the story, I was concerned that this might be one of those "Haven't I read this already?" stories, as the concept of a reunion that brings past evil-doings to the surface seems to have been done a lot recently. I'm glad to say that the storytelling in "The Christmas Party' soon showed me that my concern was unfounded. Kathryn Croft paced the reveals in the story and the movement from the Now timeline to the Before timeline kept the tension high and the story moving forward. I liked that this wasn't a story that depended on the extended foreshadowing of a single big reveal. It was a series of revelations, each one of which changed my understanding of the situation and the six people locked into it.

This is a story where all six of the players are liars. They all have secrets to protect. Their relationshjps, past and present, are complex and not always honest. Trust is in short supply, Guilt, grief, disappointment and anger are plentiful.

I didn't like any of the six players much but they were all easy to believe in as flawed people trying to forget a terrible mistake. This was a satisfying mystery that held my attention to the end and delivered a resolution that made sense. show less

Als die junge Grace Simone Porter anspricht und behauptet, ihre Tochter zu sein, ist Alles wieder da. Der grosse Schmerz und das Leid, als vor 18 Jahren ihre sechs Monate alte Tochter Helena verschwunden ist. Nichts, keine Spur, kein Lebenszeichen hat es seitdem von ihr gegeben und und Simone und ihr Mann haben mühevoll gelernt, mit diesem Verlust zu leben. Sie misstraut der jungen Frau, doch als diese ein Stofftier vorzeigt, das Helena gehörte, beginnt sie ihr Misstrauen abzulegen. show more Gemeinsam wollen sie nach der Wahrheit suchen, doch plötzlich ist Grace verschwunden. Simone macht sich auf die Suche und findet sich wieder in einem Gespinst aus Täuschungen, Lügen und Unwahrheiten.
Was ist diese Story spannend! Ich habe die rund 350 Seiten in gerade einmal zwei Tage durchgelesen, weil ich unbedingt wissen wollte, was hinter all diesen seltsamen Zusammenhängen steckt und ich mir absolut keinen Reim darauf machen konnte, wie das alles zusammenhängen sollte. Irgendjemand schrieb, es wäre bereits von vornherein klar, aber ich habe dazu vielleicht zu wenig Thriller und Krimis gelesen; ich war ständig aufs Neue überrascht.
Trotzdem hat dieses Buch einige Mängel. Es gibt reihenweise Unplausibles und nicht Nachvollziehbares: Wieso passierte während der 18 Jahre nichts? Arztbesuche gab es nur zu Beginn? Und dann? Und wie kann Ginny sooo blauäugig sein? (Wer das Buch nicht gelesen hat, kann damit vermutlich nicht viel anfangen. Aber ich will nicht spoilern). Das ist Alles wirklich ein wenig zu dick aufgetragen.
Auch der Schreibstil ist eher schlicht. Mehrmals wird am Ende eines Kapitels versucht, zusätzliche Spannung zu erzeugen, indem jemand (insbesondere Abbott) telefonisch nicht erreichbar ist. Dabei wäre das überhaupt nicht nötig, die Geschichte ist derart packend, dass solch künstlich erzeugte 'Cliffhanger' überflüssig sind. Oder die Beschreibung eines Übertäters: "... er tritt ein, mit verzerrtem Gesicht und einem bedrohlichen schiefen Grinsen." Hallo, Klischee lässt grüssen
Doch die Spannung machte diese Mängel wett, zumindest bei mir. Wer also über die genannten Schwächen hinwegsehen kann, wird einige wirklich packende Lesestunden haben. show less

From my blog

Lies, lies, lies and more lies in Part 1. I was shaking my head and thinking what foolishness is this, do people think and act like this. Then after allowing myself to 'drink the kool aid' once Part 2 came I couldn't stop reading.

All the characters were fine, more then a few unlikable including the neighbors, I think most either like, dislike or are neutral about neighbors. If a murder happened would this bring a neighborhood closer together or break them apart and have people show more moving out of their homes.

I don't consider Tara's family to be dysfunctional but bad things do happen to families, life happens. Tara and Noah separate and are back together but it seems like the separation affected Rosie in a negative way that puts herself and others at risk. She was an unreliable character, I never knew what to believe and neither did her family which then included the police.

There are secondary characters that add to the dilemma within the story and add distractions but in the end were they really distractions.

Nothing is as it seems which makes for a good read. Those that read mystery and thrillers all the time will have different thoughts through out the book, some right and some very wrong. Overall, it is an entertaining read but you do have to suspend belief. The Detective continued to tell Tara that they are investigating but there are so many things as a reader you say, why haven't you did this, this and this etc, just comes across as incompetent. I think this could actually take away the enjoyment for some readers but as I said it is an entertaining fast read.

This was my first Kathryn Croft book and I will read more by her. show less

The Girl in Room 12 by Kathryn Croft is a highly recommended mystery full of secrets, tension, and deception.

While their daughter Poppy is happily chatting about her day, Hannah's husband Max is late, again. Max has been staying out late, distracted, and unnaturally short-tempered lately and Hannah wonders what is instigating this change in personality. After Max returns home Hannah picks up the suit coat he left crumpled on the floor. When checking the pockets she finds a key card to a room show more at the River Walk Hotel, where the news just reported a young woman was found murdered. Was Max having an affair with her and is he responsible for the murder?

The narrative is a twisty tale as more information is uncovered and Hannah's personal investigation takes different directions. The Girl in Room 12 is compelling throughout. Not all of Hannah's actions are believable but the mystery, tension, secrets, deception and betrayals are nonstop right to the end. It's also clear that not all the characters are reliable or trustworthy and what is really happening is not revealed until the end.

The writing is very good. Croft establishes her characters, especially that of Hannah, and then creates a complex, layered plot to hold your attention. There is plenty of misdirection thrown into the mix to try and distract you from following clues. The story could have been tightened up a little, however, as there is a bit of a slowdown halfway through the novel. Keep reading though because the ending is jam-packed with shocking surprises and twists.

Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion. http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/01/the-girl-in-room-12.html show less