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Rural Scotland, 1999. Alastair, a doctor in his eighties who lives alone by a loch, wakes up in hospital having fallen and hit his head, inducing almost total amnesia. Lacking family, friends, or knowledge of himself, Clemence, his sole contact's great-niece, is called in to take care of him. Retreating to Alastair's remote cottage to help him recuperate, Clemence finds a peculiar manuscript, hidden away from prying eyes. The first line shocks her to the core: 'It was a warm, still night show more and the cry of a tawny owl swirled through the birch trees by the loch, when I killed the only woman I have ever loved.' Reading the short prologue, she discovers a murder by someone who is clearly the old doctor. The victim? Clemence's French grandmother, Sophie. Horrified, Clemence decides to read the book to Alastair, to rekindle his memory of her grandmother and their group of friends in 1930s Paris, and to try to force a confession for a crime he was never punished for. But as they read on, doubts about the true course of events begin to surface in her mind. Which is fortunate, because there are people closing in on the cottage by the loch who are willing to kill to make sure that the old man's secrets stay forgotten... show less

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I enjoyed this relatively fast paced reveal mystery. I decided to read it after watching a recent interview with the author on The Creative Penn, where they described it as their best work. I headed over to the Kobo store and read the preview. I was intrigued, so I bought it. I enjoyed the characterisation, although I did feel a couple of things were repetitive, they were minor and easily overlooked. The language was rich and emotive, building scenes well in the reader's mind. The plot took me on a journey, which plots are supposed to do, but I did wonder at some of the character reactions. It did seem a little too convenient to the plot for Clémence to be happy to read chapter by chapter slowly through the mysterious book. I've a show more sneaking suspicion that most curious young people when confronted with the supposed answers to a mystery would be less controlled. Although that is just my opinion. Aside from this, the pace was good. I liked the fact Clémence's name essentially means merciful, I am assuming it was chosen for this reason. I enjoy when authors put thought and meaning into character names.
Not sure whether it was just my copy, but my Kobo version had a page numbering issue, it jumped all over the place. One page I was on 137, the next was 101, then it jumped to 198, then 220. It was a little confusing, I never really knew exactly where I was in the book, but decided to make the most of it and believe it was a sneaky device to make the reader as confused as someone with amnesia. It wasn't that big of a deal though, as the text still flowed in the right order.
All in all, I would recommend this book and I would probably read more by the author.
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37+ Works 2,122 Members

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Suspense & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Mystery
DDC/MDS
823.92Literature & rhetoricEnglish & Old English literaturesEnglish fiction1900-2000-
BISAC

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Members
25
Popularity
1,069,929
Reviews
1
Rating
(3.93)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
8
ASINs
2