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Readers
Write
A Fatal Reunion
First Fruits
Freezing
Last Girl
Penelope Evans |
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Saving
Grace
Stalking Grace, 31 Jul 2007
Grace Waites is a
fortyish wife and mother whose straying husband and teenage kids
take her entirely for granted. Like so many women in her situation,
she is beginning to feel as though she is invisible. Then she reads
a book, a brilliant novel about a wonderful man who understands and
empathizes with women. The book makes her feel better about herself
and her situation, more positive and hopeful about her future. When
she meets the novel's author at a bookshop signing, he seems to be
the living embodiment of the paragon in his story. She is drawn to
him, basking in the glow of his kindness and understanding, and soon
they are chatting on the phone and meeting for lunch like old
friends. Then--slowly, insidiously--the terror begins....
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Penelope Evans is one of my favourite suspense writers. She
has a gift for portraying ordinary people in unusual,
dangerous situations, and her new novel is truly chilling.
SAVING GRACE is a fascinating, heart-stopping tale of a
woman on the edge and the monster who will stop at nothing
to possess her. Highly recommended. |
My Perfect Silence
Tense, funny and sad, 29 Jun 2007
Tense, funny and sad all at once. A wonderful novel
in which love and trust are questioned and powerful
suspicions are voiced. A gripping novel with plenty
of suspence and tension to keep you turning the
pages.
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A Fatal Reunion
Great Read, 29 Mar 2005
Reviewer: A reader
This work is more than a formulaic crime
novel. It is a clever, though not caustic,
commentary on the ennui of the Daily Mail
reading, Middle-England.
Evans uses a Brideshead -like exposition
of the main protagonists which lures you
into the naive and expansive world of the
undergraduate. In doing so, she evokes your
own recollections of innocence and its
subsequent soiling.
The novel is undoubtedly gripping. It is
in the same vein as Rebecca, although
unburdened with Du Maurier's haughty
narrative. Evans's is crisp and your empathy
with her characters enthralling. |
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A Chilling Story, May 27, 2004
My review doesn't ruin anything for the
potential reader: At first glance, the
protagonist's (Kate) life seems perfect and
the reader assumes her gripes are the usual
teenage angst. As you read on you discover
the subtle creepy undertone becomes more and
more ominous and real. Being the constant
center of attention isn't all it's cracked
up to be - as Kate shows us. Her
fundamentalist preacher father and bitter
grandmother are the mak'ins of one scary a**
family. Kate's grandmother is especially
chilling once you discover what is REALLY
going on. The fact that this novelist does
not resort to a tabloid description but
rather, uses subtle hints and slow reveal of
the true nature of this family made it all
the more frightening for me. There are so
many layers and issues to this story which
makes it a true work of art - I consider it
a modern masterpiece. The whole novel is a
mystery - the circumstances leading to
Kate's crippled leg, the mother's
disappearance and so on......Nothing is as
it appears to be which includes Kate
herself. The issues of religion, being a
"good mother" or person for that matter,
sex, concept of beauty, being part of the
"in" crowd, self-confidence, manipulation,
and love are all touched in this story. The
end was a little too pat for me but didn't
ruin the overall beauty of the storytelling.
This work made me want to read everything
else written by this author. No heavy handed
writing or fad sensationalism here, just a
pure gem regarding a heavy and disturbing
subject.
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First
Fruits
Eeeek!, February 27, 2002
This is one of the more disturbing books I
have read in the past month, and what a good
book it is. Kate Carr and her little family
of father and Gran live a claustrophobic
life together hiding secrets that are gently
alluded to throughout the book. Kate is the
fourteen year old girl holding the mysteries
in her head that she works out slowly
through dreams and shards of memory. Yes,
she is deceitful and manipulative and ever
so disturbed, but she is coping in that Gran
and Dad world where no one is allowed to
talk about her mother, the woman that left
her behind. The fact that Kate feels she
needs to have her school "friends" divert
some of Dad's attention from her to one of
them is just one part of the chill in this
novel. Penelope Evans has fleshed out the
major and not so minor characters so well
that each has a place in my mind long after
I finished this novel. This is a winner of a
mystery. |
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Bone-chillingly twisted and quirky!,
January 7, 2001
Having read The Last Girl, I couldn't wait
to read another Penelope Evans book. She has
a unique style of writing and her quirky and
creepy characters send chills down your
spine. This book is even more compelling and
strange than The Last Girl!
In Freezing, Stuart Park is a 28-year-old
photographer at a London morgue. When he's
not working, he spends his days in front of
his computer playing a heroic character in a
game. He also makes sure that his nosy and
eccentric father doesn't go near his
bedroom. His "life," however, changes the
moment he sets eyes on one of the corpses at
the morgue -- a beautiful and unidentified
drowning victim. There are many strange
twists and turns in the story as he tries to
find out who she was and why she died.
This haunting psychological thriller is
not for the faint at heart. But if you love
a well-written, quirky and clever thriller,
then I strongly suggest that you read it.
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Freezing
The greatest book I have ever read...,
September 24, 2000
Freezing is original, compelling,
interesting, quirky, humorous, intriguing
but not morbid or dark. The writing is
sensational, description an absolute
triumph, not too wordy, using suggestion
rather than statement. A great manipulation
of the potentially disasterous subject - the
best book I have ever read.
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A truly chilling tale by an uncommonly
gifted writer., 13 Oct 2000
Penelope Evans's first published novel, The
Last Girl, won much acclaim, and deservedly
so. Her second, Freezing, more than fullfils
the promise shown in the earlier book. The
author shares Ruth Rendell's ability to
portray solitary, disturbed characters and
make them disturbingly real, and her eye for
detail draws the reader inevitably into the
dark world of her creations. Freezing
introduces us to Stewart, a mortuary
photographer, whose life is changed when the
drowned body of an anonymous girl is brought
into his place of work. In Stewart, Penelope
Evans has created a character to equal the
sinister Larry Mann of her first novel:
personable, friendly, and easy-going...until
the reader begins to get to know him. By
then it is too late, for the author has the
gift of forcing the reader to keep on
turning the pages until the book ends. Read
this book. The author deserves a much wider
recognition. The crime genre is at present
suffering from a deluge of works that take
delight in placing style before content. The
novels of Penelope Evans most definitely do
not belong with those lesser works.
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wonderfully twisted and surprizing, August 12, 2000
Reviewer: A reader
One of the best books I've read all year. Wonderful,
non-stereotypical characters, engrossing situations and full
of twisted and quirky surprizes. The Best! |
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Last
Girl
A Knock-Out of a Read, June
27, 2000
This book was a wonderful work of
psychological suspense; it showed
how a seemingly innocent interest
can turn into obsession and from
obsession into--well--sheer terror.
Evans shows marvelous insight
into the character of Larry, man who
is both pathetic and monstrous, yet
always human, disturbingly so. A
brilliant job! |
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great book with unique narrative, July 18, 1999
Reviewer: A reader
I loved this book!!! I don't think that Larry (the main
character) is a psychopath; he's just very misguided and
interprets situations very differently than other
people. He means well, and is often hurt and
disappointed when his 'kindness' isn't reciprocated. I
was amazed by his ability to put a spin on things thus
making them right again. And apart from the great
content of this book I fell in love with the way the
story was told. I never read a book quite like this one. |
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He'd do anything for a friend...,
February 16, 2001
Larry Mann is a lonely old lodger in
England. His only neighbors are his grouchy
landlord downstairs, Ethel, and her dying,
war-vet husband. Ethel has rented the
remaining empty rooms to Indian girls for
the past decade. Larry hasn't attempted to
befriend these girls, as they are culturally
different and tend to keep to themselves and
never ask of ol' Larry's assistance. Yet,
one day Larry is shocked to come home and
find a fellow English girl by the name of
Amanda. She's extrememly timid and not
strikingly attractive, but Larry finds
himself drawn to this mysterious young lady.
Larry is convinced that the world has been
cruel to Mandy, just as it has been to
himself. He's certain they must be kindred
spirits. Soon, Larry is going all out to
accomadate his Mandy. He's buying her
snacks, cigarettes, and even buys a bird so
that Mandy can play with it when she comes
up to visit. Mandy's a busy college student,
but Larry manipulates her so as to be worked
into her daily routine. Larry will do
ANYTHING for a friend. Read this book to see
what kind of mind lurks behind the wrinkled
forehead of ol' Larry. The chilling prose of
this book delves deep into a mind that not
only revulses the reader but also encourages
sympathy. Penelope Evans' words will chill
you as you read this classic thriller! Buy
it today! |
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Nosy neighbours, May 20, 2001
When Larry Mann is introduced to his new shy
neighbour, Amanda, he decides that he is
going to be her best friend. Slowly but
surely he invades her life, buying her
presents so she feels indebted to him,
cooking her food, and giving her tips on how
to deal with the land lady. Amanda doesn't
want to seem rude, so she doesn't encourage
him, but he's just a lonely old man, so what
harm could he do?
This book will have you cringeing all the
way to end, when good old Larry shows
another side to his character. It has
wonderful characterisation and l will look
forward to reading more from this author. |
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