Rating: 
Summary: Alice Hoffman's best
Review: I've read a number of Alice Hoffman's novels. Not all of them were great, but this book is phenominal. The story deals with hurt people; people damaged by their own actions trying to somehow live their lives without doing any more damage. So what do they do? They isolate themselves emotionally. The mystery at the center of the plot isn't all that baffling. The best part of this book is the way Hoffman gives us tiny glimpses into the characters' souls. I read this book over the course of two winter days, but I could feel the heat and humidity of Verity as well as the desperate desire, fear, and determination of the two main characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating story with dark edges . . .
Review: Turtle Moon is the fifth book by author Alice Hoffman that I have read. Like many of her other novels, Turtle Moon is filled with a little mystique and an edge of darkness. Turtle Moon takes place in a town called Verity, which is the most humid spot in eastern Florida. Verity is a town where divorced women seem to run to. It is a town where one could find crushed turtle shells on the roads, and it is also a town where weird things happened in the month of May.Lucy Rosen is one of those divorced women who had run to Verity, and who was also bringing up her troubled son, Keith, on her own. Lucy found her life turning upside down when, on one gloomy night in May, one of her divorced neighbors, Karen Wright, is murdered in her apartment. Not only is Karen's body found in apartment 8C, but Karen's baby daughter is missing . . . and so is Lucy's teenage son, Keith. As a result, Julian Cash, a broody, silent cop, takes over the case, and find himself taking a special interest in Lucy, as well as her son. Lucy's main objective is to find her son, and to find out who really killed Karen Wright, so suspicion concerning her son will be dropped. Turtle Moon weaves a telling tale of suspense until the very end. Like many of Alice Hoffman's other books, she leaves her characters' futures uncertain and up in the air. The story is moving and the characters are real. Besides the aforementioned main characters, there's other supporting characters, who add to the wistful feeling of the town of Verity. Turtle Moon is a story that is enjoyable, interesting, and well-written, making Alice Hoffman one of the most intriguing writers of our time.
Rating:
Summary: A character-driven story with an intriguing mystery
Review: Hoffman is known for her use of magical realism, or a tendency to weave supernatural elements into the everyday world. She does this through use of her rich, lyrical prose and fantastical, almost mythical characters. While the latter is less evident here than in some of her other works (although an angel appears several times as a minor character), this book does showcase Hoffman's detailed and descriptive writing style. Usually, I don't enjoy books with as little dialogue as this one, but to compensate, Turtle Moon offers complex characters whose interwoven histories draw one into the story, an intriguing mystery involving the murder of a young single mother. Although I have disliked some of Hoffman's other novels, I enjoyed this one enough to continue sampling her work.
Rating:
Summary: Another special book from Alice Hoffman!
Review: It would appear that I have arrived late at the party since Turtle Moon is only the third book I've read by Alice Hoffman. And while Practical Magic will most likely always remain my favorite, Turtle Moon, will be a close second. Once again as she does in her other books Alice Hoffman presents her readers with wonderful characters who remain with one long after they close the book. In Turtle Moon, she also describes a place both geographically and spiritually so that if we were set down there tomorrow, we would know our way around. Verity, Florida is the place where more divorced women come to from New York when they leave their husbands. Some come with children who are difficult like Lucy Rosen, while others like Bethany run away on the spur of the moment to leave abusive husbands. Some work at jobs while others hide out with their small children and pawn jewelry for extra cash. And some dread going home to confront their children or to learn that their child has once again been suspended from school. And in this quiet town lives Julian Cash, a policeman with a difficult dog and a difficult past which continues to haunt him. And as if the month of May isn't difficult enough for the residents of this town as sea turtles begin their migration across the streets of Verity, a young woman is found murdered, her baby missing along with Lucy's son who is the worst boy in Verity. Now its up to Julian and Lucy to join together and to find him and the truth out about the murder. And we as readers are like spiders in a web as we move along with the plot, setting and characters of this first rate novel. Hoffman, as usual has filled her book wth many mystical occurrences and images. She has also filled the pages with themes present in some of her other books. In this case, themes such as relationships between spouses, parents and children, guilt for survivng a tragedy and moving on with one's life despite disappointments. Most of all I see this book as a testimony ultimately to running towards and dealing with ones problems. And as in the past books I've read Hoffman fills her pages with a cast of the most endearing characters. From Lucy and her ex-husband to her Aunt and Uncle, from Julian to his cousin, Ghost, from Bethany to her slimy husband, these are people who will live and breath for you within these pages. And eventhough I may have been a late arrival, I am now a happy Alice Hoffman fan looking forward to catching up on her older titles as well as her newest book The River King.
Rating: 
Summary: To be honest? A sappy, amateurish novel.
Review: I found this to be an immature and unbelievable novel, young and girly. I couldn't believe in the characters or in the storyline, and I can't imagine trying another Hoffman novel after this flop. I don't mean to offend anyone here, but I think this story is best suited for people who enjoy the "romance" genre. There's nothing at all wrong with that, but I expected something different and something more literary.
Rating:
Summary: a good read.
Review: A book full of interesting people, a story that grabs you and doesn't let go until the end, and so well written i could feel the sticky southern heat even in the middle of winter.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I'd read so many good things about Alice Hoffman in the reviews here and that this book was "one of her best." I was terribly disappointed. From the start, the introduction of the characters was overwhelming. I got the point that there were many divorced moms flocking to Verity but then - wham - I was slammed with detail after detail of several different women who, after three or four of them, I lost count - and interest - of who was who. Following chapters started out with "she" and I had to read on and refer back to previous chapters to figure out who the character was supposed to be. Don't misinterpret this to mean I don't enjoy lots of characters; simply the women start off so similarly that it was distracting to keep track when the new chapter doesn't give you clue as to who is now in the spotlight.
I did not find the characters all that interesting or realistic. I just didn't find much depth to them. The final straw for me came when the "Angel" got his own chapters. Maybe some people find the fantasy angle enchanting, but I thought it was just plain hokey. Also, the love scenes between Lucy and Julian seemed out of place and repetitive.
Overall I am allowing one extra star to my review as credit because my expectations were so high. If I had just picked the book up knowing nothing and having read no reviews perhaps I would not have such disappointment. I love Jodi Picoult's novels and Ms. Picoult raves about Hoffman, which is the reason I investigated the reviews in the first place. I just did not find this book as spectacular or interesting as other readers have.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This book is fantastic. If you enjoy reading Alice Hoffman, you will love this book. Her style of writing is unmatched and makes the pages turn themselves. Definately recomend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Still my favourite
Review: My husband and I have read all of Alice Hoffman's books and this still remains our favourite. If you have been disappointed or put off by her other novels then I suggest you read this one and am confident you will change your mind.
Rating:
Summary: Thriller touched by magic and better for it
Review: There's always a little magic or fantasy in Alice Hoffman's stories and "Turtle Moon" is no different. In small town America, in a little place called Verity, where emotional refugees from upstate New York like Lucy and the unfortunate murder victim seek shelter from their private storms, we are joined midway and quite suddenly by Angel, a phantom figure and the afterlife reincarnation of Julian's cousin who had died tragically behind the wheels during an in-car fight many years ago. Up to this point, the cast of characters and plot deveopment were pretty much standard psycho thriller fare but the arrival of Angel changed all that. His benign ghostly presence and gentle haunting over the affairs of Verity's folks gives the novel an otherworldly feel that very nearly transforms TM into a fable. As a murder mystery, TM succeeds in maintaining the suspense right through the end. While we're following the emotional ups and downs of Verity's inhabitants, we still want to know whodunnit. The dry scorching heat floating off the pages of TM aggravates the grief of these [people] - they're all running away from spouses, parents, betrayals or memories - but Hoffman isn't a pessimist. Her faith in human nature is like a beacon of light that remains undimmed throughout. Consider. Even the "worst behaved boy in the world" finds courage in the face of extreme adversity. Likewise, the growing romantic attachment between Lucy and Julian can only be mutually healing. They both seek redemption for their past. Hoffman only loses her balance once, lapsing into sentimentality when she has the bad boy Keith fall for the dog and pays the price for it. TM is otherwise an excellent and wonderfully entertaining book that you can
enjoy and finish within a day.
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