After awarding Michele Campbell’s “She was the Quiet One” five well deserved stars, I couldn’t wait to read her latest novel “A Stranger on the Beach”.
Sadly, I was initially very disappointed, the writing style and the unnecessary smutty scenes - which in my opinion lowered the tone of what could have been a cleverly plotted and intelligently written book.
Told from two different perspectives, Caroline in the first person and Aidan in the third person, both are unreliable narrators and you’re unsure of which are to be believed. The premise of the plot involving a marriage breakdown, a one night stand and a murder does sound intriguing but for me the story didn’t get going until ‘after the storm’. This was definitely a book of two halves regarding my enjoyment, as the latter part of the story involving the police investigation did redeem itself in pace and content. I didn’t like Aidan’s lawyer and found her unrealistic and rather silly considering her reputation and the charge she was defending. All the characters were very wooden and could maybe even be described as tacky. Although this book may make a cheesy afternoon TV movie (minus the graphic love scenes), as a book, it just didn’t cut it for me.
As a whole, it was just ok and I did eventually get into it, even if near the end, hence my 3 stars award and not 2. I’ve seen lots of raving reviews from fellow reviewers, maybe it just wasn’t to my taste but I won’t give up on this author yet, as I have enjoyed her work in the past and hope she returns in the future to the writing style I liked.
3 stars
Sadly, I was initially very disappointed, the writing style and the unnecessary smutty scenes - which in my opinion lowered the tone of what could have been a cleverly plotted and intelligently written book.
Told from two different perspectives, Caroline in the first person and Aidan in the third person, both are unreliable narrators and you’re unsure of which are to be believed. The premise of the plot involving a marriage breakdown, a one night stand and a murder does sound intriguing but for me the story didn’t get going until ‘after the storm’. This was definitely a book of two halves regarding my enjoyment, as the latter part of the story involving the police investigation did redeem itself in pace and content. I didn’t like Aidan’s lawyer and found her unrealistic and rather silly considering her reputation and the charge she was defending. All the characters were very wooden and could maybe even be described as tacky. Although this book may make a cheesy afternoon TV movie (minus the graphic love scenes), as a book, it just didn’t cut it for me.
As a whole, it was just ok and I did eventually get into it, even if near the end, hence my 3 stars award and not 2. I’ve seen lots of raving reviews from fellow reviewers, maybe it just wasn’t to my taste but I won’t give up on this author yet, as I have enjoyed her work in the past and hope she returns in the future to the writing style I liked.
3 stars