| Product: |
Something Might Happen - Julie Myerson |
| Date: |
24/05/06 (113 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: descriptive and talented writing
Disadvantages: heartbreaking
Tess and her husband Mick, live with their four children in a small seaside town in Suffolk. One winter's night a local woman is brutally murdered - she is later identified as Tess's best friend. The whole town is horrified - after all, Lennie just isn't the type to have something like this happen to her.
And so begins an investigation. But this isn't a thriller, or a crime story. This book tells of Tess's struggle to hold onto all that is dear to her. Suddenly her mundane routine changes as police intrude on her family's lives. The rock solid relationship is shaken and starts to reach rocky ground as false testimony, clues and tantalising sightings butt into their every day lives.
Who killed Lennie, and why? And how can Tess help her grieving neighbour, Alex, and his two sons? As the funeral approaches, the connections that Tess has formed are tested as she takes a step back from the horrendous nightmare. Looking at her own life, she realises that sometimes there's no one out there to help you.
* What I liked *
Gosh. Well this is the first Myerson book I've ever read and I was not disappointed. This had me hooked from the start. It's very easy to read, with frequent breaks and chapter changes. It's unbelievably realistic, from the very first pages the reader is literally sucked into the grim reality of what's happening and we feel as if this is true - that Lennie is *your* best friend. It's shocking in its honesty and doesn't pull any punches.
'I think she's dead, he says. He takes a deep breath, corrects himself. No. I mean - she is - oh Tess - she is dead.
Dead. Lennie is dead. The air around my head blooms into a massive, soft silence. Everything stops and my ears are velvety with it.
Tess?
I am about to answer him but instead the floor comes zooming up to meet my face.
It's OK, I can hear him saying, it's OK.
With my head between my knees and him holding me, I breathe. Big, hurting breaths, in and out'.
Myerson doesn't use quotation marks at all throughout the book. As a stickler for punctuation I would normally find this annoying but it was an interesting way of relating the story - as if all the conversations that take place are being narrated to the reader in conversation rather than written down in a book. This somehow makes it seem very personal.
The story is told from Tess's point of view, through her eyes we see that her marriage isn't perfect. A late baby in life came as a surprise, perhaps something they had not planned for with 3 older children. There's a history with Alex, Lennie's husband, and Tess feels obliged to watch over him as best she can even though everyone is racked with grief. Tess also forms a close friendship with Lacey, the young police liaison officer brought onto the case. He seems to understand what she's going through while Mick, Tess's husband, starts to pull away as bereavement sets in and divides them.
* Overall *
I read my fair share of rubbish. But deep down I love a good book with what I call 'proper writing'. It's easy to read a chicky book, lightweight and airy and forget it immediately. But this novel is deep and powerful, making it instantly memorable. The fact that there are only four main characters - Tess, Mick, Alex and Lacey allow the reader to really dive in and see how they behave and interact when faced with disaster.
I loved this story. OK so it wasn't the most cheerful book I've read, but Lennie's death, although the basis of the story, is not the sole point in the book. Myerson cleverly shows us from every character's point of view what might happen were you in their shoes. It is told in a simple way, but the reader is left in no doubt what the author wants to convey. She switches from the children fighting to Tess's furtive meetings with Lacey in a smooth transition - mixing the normal routine of Tess's life with a new and secret time away from her family on a windy beach. This shows us how a single momentary lapse in concentration can result in further tragedy, and it will leave the reader feeling emotionally wrung out.
I have to award it five stars. I read this in a matter of days. Funnily enough the murder aspect does tail off and not seem that important towards the end of the book. By then the reader is so involved in this family and its complexities that it's just a matter of winding things up. This book shows how one random act of violence can change so many lives forever.
I'll be keeping a look out for more books by Myerson. I was blown away by this one. It's so convincing it will leave you reeling.
Thanks for reading.
* Other info *
328 pages
RRP £6.99 (£5.49 on play.com)
ISBN 0-099-45352-5
Published by Vintage UK, Random House
* About the author *
Julie Myerson was born in 1960. Her previous works include Sleepwalking, The Touch, Me and the Fat Man, Not a Games Person, Laura Blundy and Home.
Summary: A local murder shows us that something might happen
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