Helpful Score: 2
I liked this book. I liked it enough to read it in almost one sitting. I usually dont like mysteries especially ones with multiple POV. However, this book pushed all the right buttons for me. I didnt even mind the ending which was not what I expected. It is a very fast moving book because you already know the what from the beginning; you are learning the why throughout the book.
I recommend this book to mystery & contemporary readers OR anyone else looking for something different!
I recommend this book to mystery & contemporary readers OR anyone else looking for something different!
Helpful Score: 1
4.0 out of 5 stars Sinister and gothic, a fun "ghost" story..., April 6, 2011
This was definitely a fast-paced, suspenseful mystery set on the campus of an unnamed Midwestern university. The main characters: beautiful Omega Theta Tau sorority sisters Nicole and Josie and their friends -- Godwin Honors Hall roommates Craig and Perry. Nicole is dating Craig when they are involved in a car accident one night. Shelley Lockes (the director of the college Chamber Music Society) comes upon the accident and calls 911. She's sent away from the site after reassuring herself that both of the victims were OK but finds out later that Nicole was declared dead and burned beyond recognition at the scene. Hmmmmm. She tries to contact police and the local papers to correct the story and straighten out the record, but no one follows through. A year later, Josie, Perry and Craig return to campus. The sorority is draped in black, mourning their lost sister and taunting "killer" Craig. He's a mess, can't remember any details about the wreck or its aftermath, and is barely getting through school. His roommate Perry takes a class from Professor Mira Polson -- an anthropologist and expert on cultural aspects of death, in order to try to make sense of all that happened.
Told in shifting perspectives of time and point of view, the novel takes the reader back to the early days at college when Nicole was still alive and through an amazingly complicated story that packs a powerful punch. College romance, manipulation, Greek rituals and hazings -- possibly even outright murder! The tension mounts as people close to discovering the truth find themselves run out of town, discredited, and embarrassed. What did happen the night of the car accident -- is it possible that Nicole did not die or is it her ghost that is haunting her former friends Craig and Perry. And why is Josie acting so strange?
A fun "ghost" story that I think any mystery fan will enjoy! Recommended.
This was definitely a fast-paced, suspenseful mystery set on the campus of an unnamed Midwestern university. The main characters: beautiful Omega Theta Tau sorority sisters Nicole and Josie and their friends -- Godwin Honors Hall roommates Craig and Perry. Nicole is dating Craig when they are involved in a car accident one night. Shelley Lockes (the director of the college Chamber Music Society) comes upon the accident and calls 911. She's sent away from the site after reassuring herself that both of the victims were OK but finds out later that Nicole was declared dead and burned beyond recognition at the scene. Hmmmmm. She tries to contact police and the local papers to correct the story and straighten out the record, but no one follows through. A year later, Josie, Perry and Craig return to campus. The sorority is draped in black, mourning their lost sister and taunting "killer" Craig. He's a mess, can't remember any details about the wreck or its aftermath, and is barely getting through school. His roommate Perry takes a class from Professor Mira Polson -- an anthropologist and expert on cultural aspects of death, in order to try to make sense of all that happened.
Told in shifting perspectives of time and point of view, the novel takes the reader back to the early days at college when Nicole was still alive and through an amazingly complicated story that packs a powerful punch. College romance, manipulation, Greek rituals and hazings -- possibly even outright murder! The tension mounts as people close to discovering the truth find themselves run out of town, discredited, and embarrassed. What did happen the night of the car accident -- is it possible that Nicole did not die or is it her ghost that is haunting her former friends Craig and Perry. And why is Josie acting so strange?
A fun "ghost" story that I think any mystery fan will enjoy! Recommended.
Helpful Score: 1
I went into this book not knowing what it was about. It was recommended to me by a friend, of whose opinion I really trust when it comes to literature. The first half of this book is a little slow. The characters and plot are being laid out in a very meticulous matter. Almost like a puzzle. About half way through the book, the pace really begins to pick up! I read the last half in about two sittings. I could not put it down.
The language and the "sex scenes" were a little more explicit than I usually appreciate. However, I believe that it was needed in order to set the tone of evilness and corruptness that the author was trying to achieve.
Amazing read! You will not regret picking it up!
The language and the "sex scenes" were a little more explicit than I usually appreciate. However, I believe that it was needed in order to set the tone of evilness and corruptness that the author was trying to achieve.
Amazing read! You will not regret picking it up!
Helpful Score: 1
Took a while for the story to really get moving....but once it did it held my interest!
A book full of suspense, death and illusions. Very surreal and again haunting.
Interesting book that took a direction I didn't expect.
I almost made the mistake of putting this book down for good. At page 60, I was still waiting for the story to happen. For the "ah ha this is what the book is about" moment. Someone told me to stick it out to page 100. Thankfully I did, because that's where the story finally picked up. I was surprised at the overall theme of the book as well. I assumed it was mostly a book about coming to terms with loss, when others thing your are the purpose of it. Oh and sprinkle some mystery into it. I was defiantly wrong. It's more mystery, life choices, and the sinister nature that certain evens can bring out in a person.
I only give the book 3 stars because of the very slow beginning and the writing style of the book. Within a chapter, a paragraph will switch past tense and present and even character view, without any warning. At times I would read a page before I figured out the author was placing us in the past, and from the eyes of another character. It caused me to have to reread sections so that it made more sense.
I only give the book 3 stars because of the very slow beginning and the writing style of the book. Within a chapter, a paragraph will switch past tense and present and even character view, without any warning. At times I would read a page before I figured out the author was placing us in the past, and from the eyes of another character. It caused me to have to reread sections so that it made more sense.
