Suspicion

Rating:
Summary: CRITICS RAVE ABOUT BARBARA ROGAN'S SUSPICION
Review: Carolyn See in The Washington Post Book World: "I absolutely couldn't put this book down. Chores went undone, meals went unmade, phone messages unanswered until I finished it. I had to resort to eye drops and Advil because SUSPICION had its way with me from start to finish.... SUSPICION is hypnotic.... If you can put this book down before you've finished it, it's possible that your heart may have stopped beating."

John Perry in the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review: "Rogan's smart reinvention of the haunted housewife, mad or menaced or both, is a honey.... Rogan cleverly reworks this tradition.... Like Shirley Jackson, Rogan brings sophistication, skillful writing and subtlety to the business of ghosts."

Kirkus Reviews: "Rogan's best so far...a winning, flat-out all-nighter.... Strong characterizations...suck the reader with unerring skill into the joys of total entertainment."

Library Journal: "Rogan is the author of six novels and this could be her breakout book. Rogan weaves classic mystery and ghost story elements together with modern computer technologies to create a novel that twists and turns right up to the end. A well-crafted book that is a pleasure to read and will surely attract a wide-ranging audience."

Publishers Weekly: "This absorbing tale is artfully told, with cleverly integrated subplots, rising suspense, and vividly nuanced characters who come alive through snappy, irreverent dialogue."

Internet Book Watch: "Barbara Rogan keeps the audience guessing until the very end. SUSPICION is a wonderful novel and...Emma is a great character.... A fabulous book."

Locus Magazine: "Fine prose, interesting ideas, and glimpses of the genuinely unearthly in an unexpected venue: a haunting conducted via the computer!"

Rating:
Summary: Cheesy, trite and cliche-ridden
Review: Dear Amazon.com, please make it possible to award a book NO stars. I purchased this book after reading all the rave reviews for it here. What a disappointment. The story's full of hack stereotypes, like the feisty, wise-cracking Jewish sister, the distracted, intellectual (he's a physicist) WASP husband, the studly kid's soccer coach who gets to be (big surprise) the potential extramartial interest. And then there's the embarrassing cliches: the young black woman who's forever saying "You go, girlfriend!" and the elderly English teacher WHO WEARS LAVENDER SCENT.

Another reviewer felt that the main character wasn't very likeable. For me, the less-than-lovable heroine was the ONLY interesting thing in this sad mess.

If you feel compelled to read this book, borrow someone else's copy or wait until it comes out in paperback, but please don't waste your money on the hardcover. Then save it for a brainless beach read.

Rating:
Summary: Your suspicions are correct, this is worth reading
Review: Emma a writer who has grown up in New York loves the sounds, clutter and smells of the big city that most want to move away from. Her husband Roger is one of those people. He secretly finds a house out on Long Island in a small town and drags the reluctant Emma out to see it. She is not too thrilled with the place and does not want to leave her life in the city. One room wins her over though, a room at the top of some hidden stairs which is the perfect writer's room, 360 degree views for inspiration. Her son Zack also loves the place. Much to the disgust of her sister and part of herself she reluctantly agrees to purchase the place and relocate.

This house has a secret though. An old schoolteacher lady did some weird stuff here in her final years and the locals avoid the place claiming she haunts it. Caroline a domestic violence support worker also moves in to the small cottage down the driveway that came with the house. Roger does not like her but she quickly becomes Emma's friend.

Zack is easily the best of the players in his new soccer team and the coach a womaniser not afraid to be labelled so is very interested in Emma. Meanwhile back at the house strange stuff is occurring when Emma is all alone. Is she going insane? Is the house haunted? Or is someone from her past back for vengeance?

This is a pretty good book. I recently read Hindsight, also by Rogan just before this one which is in a whole other league above this, but this is still a good book and a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Your suspicions are correct, this is worth reading
Review: Emma a writer who has grown up in New York loves the sounds, clutter and smells of the big city that most want to move away from. Her husband Roger is one of those people. He secretly finds a house out on Long Island in a small town and drags the reluctant Emma out to see it. She is not too thrilled with the place and does not want to leave her life in the city. One room wins her over though, a room at the top of some hidden stairs which is the perfect writer's room, 360 degree views for inspiration. Her son Zack also loves the place. Much to the disgust of her sister and part of herself she reluctantly agrees to purchase the place and relocate.

This house has a secret though. An old schoolteacher lady did some weird stuff here in her final years and the locals avoid the place claiming she haunts it. Caroline a domestic violence support worker also moves in to the small cottage down the driveway that came with the house. Roger does not like her but she quickly becomes Emma's friend.

Zack is easily the best of the players in his new soccer team and the coach a womaniser not afraid to be labelled so is very interested in Emma. Meanwhile back at the house strange stuff is occurring when Emma is all alone. Is she going insane? Is the house haunted? Or is someone from her past back for vengeance?

This is a pretty good book. I recently read Hindsight, also by Rogan just before this one which is in a whole other league above this, but this is still a good book and a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: A sophisticated tale of suspense and earthly horror
Review: Emma Roth lives with her spouse Roger and their son Zach in Mid Manhattan until her husband decides to move the family to a Long Island town he loves. Roger locates the perfect home: an old Victorian located on an isolated cliff. Emma, author of ghost stories, realizes the house is the ideal place for a ghost to reside, but is grounded in scientific fact so scoffs at the supernatural.

As soon as the family moves into the home, Emma sees and hears strange things that no one else senses. She hears loud crashing noises, smells lavender, feels cold spots, and notices a computer game that fails to follow its programming. At one time clinically depressed and even hospitalized for her condition, Emma wonders if she is losing her mind. However, she rejects that theory and begins to wonder if someone is toying with her emotions even though she cannot understand how that individual could have access to her home. Whether it is from the mortal or supernatural planes, Emma searches for answers even as she places herself in danger.

Is this novel a well-designed ghost story or a clever psychological suspense drama? Barbara Rogan keeps the audience guessing until the very end and even then she leaves room for continual doubt. SUSPICION is a wonderful novel that captures and holds the reader's attention throughout the tale. Emma is a great character, whose doubts add to the feel of the story line. However, taking a page from the novel, this reviewer suggests readers peruse the novel if they want to know which way the book swings. By doing so, the audience will have experienced a fabulous book.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A terrific haunting thriller
Review: Emma Roth lives with her spouse Roger and their son Zach in Mid Manhattan until her husband decides to move the family to a Long Island town he loves. Roger locates the perfect home; an old Victorian located on an isolated cliff. Emma, author of ghost stories, realizes the house is the ideal place for a ghost to reside, but is grounded in scientific fact so scoffs at the supernatural.

As soon as the family moves into the home, Emma sees and hears strange things that no one else senses. She hears loud crashing noises, smells lavender, feels cold spots, and notices a computer game that fails to follow its programming. At one time clinically depressed and even hospitalized for her condition, Emma wonders if she is losing her mind. However, she rejects that theory and begins to wonder if someone is toying with her emotions even though she cannot understand how that individual could have access to her home. Whether it is from the mortal or supernatural planes, Emma searches for answers even as she places herself in danger.

Is this novel a well-designed ghost story or a clever psychological suspense drama? Barbara Rogan keeps the audience guessing until the very end and even then she leaves room for continual doubt. SUSPICION is a wonderful novel that captures and holds the reader's attention throughout the tale. Emma is a great character, whose doubts add to the feel of the story line. However, taking a page from the novel, this reviewer suggests readers peruse the novel if they want to know which way the book swings. By doing so, the audience will have experienced a fabulous book.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Only if you are desperate!
Review: Fans of Barbara Michaels will love this one. Part ghost story, part mystery/suspense. A highly recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Fans of Barbara Michaels will love this one. Part ghost story, part mystery/suspense. A highly recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: About SUSPICION
Review: Hi, Readers.

My thanks to the reviewers above for their kind words. SUSPICION is my sixth novel but my first "suspense" novel, so it's reassuring to hear that I got it right. Turns out to be a tricky thing, writing a mystery. In SUSPICION, Emma doesn't know until the end whether her house is haunted, she's going mad, or someone very close to her is out to destroy her. Keeping all those possibilities alive for the reader as well was like juggling half a dozen balls... for two years.

Sometimes it's hard to pin down where the idea for a book comes from. In the case of SUSPICION, though, I know the precise moment the book was conceived. It was a beautiful spring morning and I was working...no, actually, I was procrastinating, playing a computer card game before settling down to write. The characters in that game are programmed for some generic chat of the "Gee, I'd love to play a game of Hearts with you" variety. How weird would it be, I suddenly thought, if they actually said something personal to me, something they could not possibly know, something nasty. And at that moment, SUSPICION was born.

I'd like to share a few early reviews of SUSPICION. (Forgive the immodesty; they're the sort of reviews writers dream of and I can't resist.) The Washington Post's reviewer wrote, "I absolutely couldn't put this book down. Chores went undone, meals went unmade, phone messages unanswered... I had to resort to eye drops and Advil because SUSPICION had its way with me from start to finish... If you can put this book down before you've finished it, it's possible that your heart may have stopped beating." The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Like Shirley Jackson, Rogan brings sophistication, skillful writing and subtlety to the business of ghosts." Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Rogan's best so far, a winning, flat-out all-nighter...Strong characterizations...suck the reader with unerring skill into the joys of total entertainment."

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the readers of SUSPICION, ROWING IN EDEN, and my other novels for their support.

Sincerely,

Barbara Rogan

Rating:
Summary: This book is a must-read!
Review: I found this book to be so enthralling! I stayed in my reading chair and let everything else go until I read the last page. I was so absorbed that every time the phone rang, I jumped. For those of you out there who are a little tired of the most popular psychological suspense authors, i.e. Mary Higgins Clarke, Patricia Cornwell, etc., I am sure you will find this book refreshing. I love the aforementioned authors, however, lately, I have found them somewhat predictable. I would suggest to anyone planning to read this book to block some time off. You will not want to put it down!