The Beauty Of The End

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The second we have reviewed by the same author and she doesn't disappoint. The stage is set when a washed up lawer turned author receives a phone call from friend from universty. He leaves the seclusion of his remote cottage to visit a dying former fiancée and comes to realise that he knew so little of her childhood family life. He cannot believe that this former lover, now in a coma in hospital, is capable of murder and sets out to find the truth.

'Grip-lit', as a term from the cover blurb, is not familiar to me but does sum up the book. A gripping summer read. Would recommend.

Those of our group who started the book, read on to the end. They found the plot weak and forgettable. It took a while to get into the book and was disappointing even when it got going.
We felt that April seemed to be an unlikely goddess and that Noah must have been in his own little world and rather drippy not to have noticed what she was like.
The characters did not change during the book. We felt that we would have liked to know more of the murder of April’s stepfather and also we thought that Ella could have been developed more than she was, as she was the real victim in the story. Will was the baddy from the start, so no surprises there.
It was felt that the storyline went to and from the past rather too often, and with no warning.
We were puzzled by the relevance of the title, but thought it was possibly something to do with the letter from April at the end of the book.
We felt that the book was disappointing and would not recommend it to others, although we understand from one of our number that the author’s first book is better.
Out of ten, we scored this book as a 6

Read as part of Gloucester Book Club. The majority of us thought this book was OK, but didn't really find anything memorable about it. It's the story of a washed up lawyer, living a reclusive life in Devon, who finds out that the long lost love of his life may have committed a murder. The problem is she is in a coma. He goes to try and discover what really happened. Nice idea, but it didn't live up to its description as a psychological thriller. We didn't feel connected to any of the characters, and didn't really care about any of them. Having said that it is an easy read, and a couple of our members really enjoyed it.

I loved this book from the first chapter to the last. There were twists and turns throughout. I was convinced I was going one way and knew what was going to happen, only to find another turn and I was taken in a completely different direction.

I found this book so easy to read, the style and language just seemed to flow. For me this seemed to be predominately Noah's story. It starts with his obsession with his first love, April. He sees what he wants to see, puts her on a pedestal and completely ignores anything which dirties his rose tinted glasses. He hides from things that don't fit into his world and finally wakes starts to see when he goes to rescue April. They have been estranged for many years but he runs when he knows she may need him. Only then does he finally see April for the real person she is.

Interwoven with Noah's story is Ella's story. I wondered how they would fit together and I actually didn't see it coming. The fit was perfect. I often guess the plot but I didn't with this book.

I loved this and will definitely look for Debbie's other book 'The Bones of You'.

I was caught up in this book from the start. On the back cover it is described as “grip-lit”, not a phrase I have come across before but one which is very appropriate.

I suppose it is a crime novel, at least that is the premise, but essentially it is a journey of self-discovery for the main character, Noah. Noah’s childhood sweetheart, April, is in trouble. As he is a trained lawyer he decides to offer his services and find out the sequence of events which has led to her current predicament. Unfortunately, despite having been estranged from April for many years, love can still be blind. It is not really love, it is a teenage crush that has turned into an obsession and he has put April onto a pedestal where she sits like a goddess in his mind. This clouds his ability to view her or any of her actions objectively, and everything he sees and discovers is interpreted accordingly.

Negative points? There aren’t very many, but enough to preclude a five star rating. I found that the “thoughts” in italics during the first chapter interrupted with the flow of the reading a little – there must be alternative ways to convey the same thing without the reader having to concentrate so hard. Also, there are perhaps one too many twists in the tale at the end in an attempt to create a spectacular climax. It was dramatic but sometimes less can be more.

Most people in the book group enjoyed this book, although some felt it was all a bit too far-fetched. A couple really objected to the introduction of Ella - as we don't know who she is until the end of the book they felt that she just confused matters.

Despite a few very minor criticisms I personally really enjoyed this book. I would certainly read more by the same author and would recommend it to anyone. It is a good easy-read, and the author has created a real page-turner. What more can you ask for?