Julie Myerson - Something Might Happen

[Michelle]

On a Monday night in October in a small seaside town in Suffolk, a woman is brutally murdered. There are no obvious suspects, she was not an obvious victim. She just wasn't, thinks her grieving, bewildered friend Tess, the type to have something happen to her. Something Might Happen is not a murder mystery.

 

There are clues, false trails, detectives, all the paraphernalia of the whodunnit, but Myerson's concern is with the effect of the murder on an ordinary community and specifically on Tess herself, her husband Mick and her three children. As the police go about their routine investigation, Tess's world of nappies, school runs and baked beans begins to unravel. Suddenly nothing is certain, the mundane becomes charged with significance, established relationships begin to crumble and places that once were safe are safe no longer.

 

This one has recieved mixed reviews, and I can't say I'm surprised. I for one, loved it.

 

It's written in the present tense, 1st person, with no speech marks.. a format that takes a little getting used to.

 

However, once you let yourself accept the writing style, and sink into the book, it grips you, and doesn't let go. The murder itself is a background.. the story revolves around the every day life of Tess.. how she and those around her deal with their grief, plus the issues that come up in her marriage.

 

It strikes me as being a very honest book.. her style is direct, and that matches the storyline.

 

A word of warning.. if you decide to try it (and you really should!), be prepared to cry!

[madcow]

Yet another to be added to my TBR pile!!!!!!!!

[Michelle]

It's up on my sale/swap list.