As her curiosity begins to give way to obsession, Christy finds herself drawn deeper into the mystery of the house’s previous occupants – and the dark and shocking secret
that tore the street apart . . .”
Oh wow, guys. Oh wow. I just finished “The Sudden Departure of the Frasiers” by Louise Candlish, and I have an intense need to talk about it. Let’s go.
First off, I only bought this book because of the beautiful, beautiful cover design. Why are Penguin books always so amazingly gorgeous? I promise, I didn’t even read any sort of description, I just grabbed the book and left. Also, it is probably worth noting that I had never heard of Louise Candlish before, so I had no idea what I was in for. Blind dating – level Librophilée.
To be fair, as soon as I started reading, I quickly realized that Candlish had struck a nerve with me. I am a sucker for those perfect-suburbia-oh-wait-they-aren’t-perfect-after-all kind of stories. Delving into Lime Park Road was just for me.
Let’s start with what I liked most: Amber. Specifically, I loved the way Candlish made me dislike Amber, how she turned her into a wonderfully multidimensional character – and how I felt myself get more agitated every time Amber lived up to her character traits. Generally speaking, I was very fond of all of the characters (not necessarily on a personal level, but much more on a story telling level).
I had really hoped for a bit more depth with the protagonist Christy; however, I feel like I am complaining on very high grounds here. Christy seemed like a likeable & relatable character – probably a tad too much, for my liking.
Unfortunately, about half way through the book, I had already an idea about how the ending would turn out and even less fortunate, I was right – so the ending underwhelmed me a bit, as I saw it coming wide and clear. Some of the clues that were dropped just pointed me in the right direction and I really hoped for that one plot twist that would prove me wrong and surprise me – unfortunately, the plot twist never came.
Let’s be clear here – Louise Candlish kept me wonderfully entertained. “The Sudden Departure of the Frasiers” is definitely a page turner, and even though I had hoped for a different ending, I still genuinely liked the book. I felt that the writing was very harmonizing, no loose threads kept bothering me and yes, albeit grumpy, I arranged myself with the ending.
Generally speaking, if you are a fan of Gillian Flynn and/or Diane Chamberlain, you will probably love this book as much as I did. Even if you are not, I would still recommend you to get a cup of tea (ice tea will do in this burning heat), make yourself comfortable and take a stroll into Lime Park Road. Just make sure nobody watches you as you leave.
