Five strangers / E.V. Adamson.

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Title:

Five strangers / E.V. Adamson.

Author:

Adamson, E. V.

ISBN:

9781613162422

Edition:

First Scarlet edition.

Publication Information:

New York : Scarlet, 2021.

Physical Description:

347 p.

Abstract:

On a warm Valentine's Day, a quarrel breaks out on London's crowded Hampstead Heath. The argument becomes violent and suddenly escalates to murder/suicide. Or so five strangers who see the incident believe. But when one of them, disgraced journalist Jen Hunter, begins to question what she thought she saw, the witnesses' lives unravel and the crime is revealed as more terrible than anyone imagined.

Subject Term:

Murder -- Investigation -- England -- London -- Fiction.

Witnesses -- Fiction.

Women journalists -- Fiction.

Psychological fiction.

Geographic Term:

Hampstead Heath (London, England) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Suspense fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback	120791002919835	M ADA	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

With its grassy hills and breathtaking city views, London's Hampstead Heath is the perfect place to spend an afternoon with friends and loved ones--and on an unseasonably warm Valentine's Day, the lawns are especially full. So when an aggressive lovers' quarrel breaks out, there's an audience of park goers nearby to hear the shouts traded back and forth, and to watch as the violence escalates suddenly to murder, then suicide.

For the five strangers who observed the gruesome act, the memory of the gore is unshakable. But one of them--disgraced journalist Jen Hunter--is compelled to question the truth of what she thought she saw. Are the facts of the case plain as day, or were they obscured, in the moment, by the glaring sunlight?

As she mounts an obsessive investigation for a seemingly-impossible alternative, the lives of the other witnesses begin to unravel, each in its own particular way. Soon one thing becomes clear: the crime they witnessed was more terrible, more twisted, and more far-reaching than they ever could have imagined.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The pseudonymous Adamson's uneven debut opens with an intriguing setup. On a beautiful Valentine's Day on a hill in London's Hampstead Heath, five people, all strangers to each other, see a horrific murder/suicide involving a couple sitting on a park bench. One of the witnesses is journalist Jen Hunter, who lives with retired journalist Penelope Frasier in Penelope's enormous mansion in Hampstead. After Jen publishes a newspaper article about the crime, she and her best friend, Rebecca "Bex" Shaw, set out to interview the other four witnesses. When Jen is threatened by a mysterious stalker and frightening texts, things seem to point to her ex-boyfriend Laurence Robertson as the culprit. Bex persuades Jen to move in with her, and together they plot to kill Laurence. Meanwhile, the older and more experienced Penelope investigates the four other witnesses plus Bex, as well as the murder and suicide victims on her own, uncovering dark secrets and an interconnectedness no one else suspects. Unfortunately, the plot bogs down with repetitive, melodramatic dialogue and predictable narrative turns until reaching the clever if far-fetched ending. There's enough talent to suggest Adamson's capable of better next time. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

E. V. Adamson is the pseudonym of award-winning journalist and author Andrew Wilson, who has written four acclaimed biographies and four Agatha Christie novels featuring the Queen of Crime as a sleuth. Five strangers--Or are they?-- witness a brutal murder and a suicide on an "impossibly bright day," a Valentine's Day, in fact, on London's Hampstead Heath. One of the witnesses, disgraced journalist Jen Hunter, gives a full police statement, certain of what she saw, but] then begins receiving anonymous tweets that make her doubt her recollection of the event. There was a champagne bottle, smashed; there was shouting, a man killed a woman and then killed himself. Right? What about the mysterious jogger who passed by without stopping and the teenager who fled the scene? With a friend's encouragement, Jen decides to interview the other witnesses and write an article about the event to both revive her failed career and to validate her own memory. Brilliant parallel narratives by Jen and her friend Bex reveal their delusions and obsessions, within an airtight plot worthy of Christie herself. Readers can expect to change their minds about the characters with each chapter, and a stunning conclusion brings it all to a satisfying end. Highly recommended for suspense fans looking for something new and different.