Rating: 
Summary: A thriller for the thinking woman
Review: "Mary Mary" ranks with Barbara Vine's "The Chimney Sweeper's Boy" and Stacey Cartwright's "Charades For Experts" as one of the most intelligent thrillers of recent years. An exciting new Irish writer, Julie Parsons has written a literary crime novel that even the great Brian Moore might have envied. The characters are all believably imperfect. The plot is as taut as piano wire, and the denoument is one of the most satisfying in years. If Alfred Hitchcock were alive, he would snap up the film rights in a heartbeat.
Rating: 
Summary: Ms. Parsons, Ms. Parsons...not your best effort
Review: After reading "Eager to Please" by Ms. Parsons, which I loved, I decided to read another of her books. "Mary, Mary" sounded interesting and on the basis of my appreciation of "Eager to Please," I was really looking forward to reading Ms. Parsons' debut novel.The story begins with the torture, rape and murder of Mary, a 20-year old woman temporarily living in Dublin. We even know who the murderer is early in the book. This brutal crime is merely a catalyst for the story of Margaret, Mary's single mother, and her reaction to the murder of her only child. During the course of the book, we learn everything there is to know about Margaret from the time of her birth up to the present day. Ms. Parsons explores every relationship Margaret has had during her 40-plus years. One would think that with all this probing into Margaret's life, we would get to know this woman in a very personal way. However, with all this information, Margaret comes off as a one-dimensional character whose only reason for being is to revenge her daughter's death. Inspector Michael McLaughlin, the police officer assigned to this case, is the one character I felt Ms. Parsons brought to life. I found his personal story touching and overshadowed his involvement in the investigation of the crime. He is the one person in the book that I was drawn to and actually cared about. What I found interesting is that in all his interactions with Margaret we always know what Michael is feeling while Margaret and only contributes dialogue. If it were not for Michael, I would probably give this book a two star rating. The problem I had with this book, other than the fact that is relentlessly dark, is the shift in time periods and characters. The book covers a 40-year time frame and Ms. Parsons shifts back and forth to any time and place within these 40 years. This, in itself, would not be a problem. In fact, I usually like this literary device. However, Ms. Parsons will start out a scene with two people in a certain time and place and quite abruptly, you will find there is a new cast of characters in another time and place only to find you are back again with the original two characters a few paragraphs later. Have I confused you? Well, imagine how I felt reading this. I was constantly having to go back a paragraph or two to get my bearings. I will say that the last 30 pages were real page turners. What a shame to have to plow through a very long not so great book to get to there. Although I didn't like this book very much, I would recommend that you pick up a copy of "Eager to Please" if you want to read
Mr. Parsons at her best. Boy, this was a hard review to write. Forgive me if I have rambled on but I think I am only reacting the rambling and rather disjointed style of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Mary, Mary
Review: Although the story line was good, there was way too much reminiscing by Mary's mother Margaret, and no preparation for it. In the shadow of Mary's murder, Margaret explores the memory of her relationship with her own father and Mary's father, who seems to be a figment of her imagination. I found myself going back a lot to figure out if this was just happening or if Margaret was remembering again. There's a twist at the end, but it doesn't take you on the edge of your seat, it just stumbles through.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent thriller without cliche
Review: Having been directed to this book as one for fans of the Barbara Vine or Patricia Cornwell school of thriller, I was delighted to be anything but disappointed by Julie Parsons' debut, Mary Mary. In common with these other women writing thrillers, Parsons avoids sentimentality or cliche in her story of a psychiatrist, Margaret, whose daughter, Mary, is murdered on a return visit from New Zealand to Margaret's native Dublin. The murder is devastating to Margaret, naturally, but it also uncovers her relationship with her dying mother, the secrets she kept from Mary all her life and the impossibility of escaping the past. What is extraordinary about this book is not only the portrait of modern Dublin, or the edge-of-your seat plot which endures to the very end, but the unusual character that is Margaret, so very refreshing in her reserve and intelligence. It is an aptitude for smart and seductive characterisation I was glad to see developed further in Parsons' second book, "The Courtship Gift".
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I almost did not buy this book (only because I had several others in hand already) but I am very glad I did! I have not been so riveted to a book in a long time! This book is full of surprises and Julie Parsons does an excellent job of bringing her characters to life. I read another reviewer's lament that there was too much reminiscing by Margaret about her dead daughter, Mary, but to me that was another part of bringing the characters to life. If you have not already bought this book I would say RUN, do not walk to purchase it As for me, I'm about to order Julie Parson's other book(s)...
Rating:
Summary: A gripping, tense thriller
Review: I found this book rivetting. Normally I would not read a psycho-thriller such as this, but on the advice of a friend I picked it up, and subsequently could not put it down. This work is a well crafted piece of literature with attention to detail and build-up of characters I found fascinating. Ms. Parsons is a keen student of humanity, especially those on the edge of reality. One can feel the frustration and pain of Margaret, a mother torn by the abduction and brutal murder of her only daughter when she returns home to Ireland from New Zealand. I found the volley between past and present a twist that was most intriguing. This is certainly the stuff box-office hits are made of. No hesitation at all of recommending this excellent read!
Rating:
Summary: WHY IS MARY, MARY SO CONFUSING?
Review: I have to say that I didn't like this book from the start but plowed through it because there were so many 5 star reviews here that I thought I was probably missing something. Believe me, I wasn't missing anything....it's just not that great. I read 200 pages before it even began to get remotely good and by that time I just wanted to be done with it once and for all. The author's writing style is very confusing using numerous flashbacks, which I don't usually mind, but using them in back to back paragraphs so you get to the point where you didn't even know if it was NOW or THEN or exactly WHO she was referring to. She also would start a new chapter and for the first few pages, you had no idea who she was talking about and once you found out, you would have to go back and start the chapter again. This is also one of the first books where I had no sympathy for the main character, the mother whose daughter Mary has just been murdered. I also had no sympathy for the victim and I still can't explain the reason why. Perhaps the author should have made me feel sorry for her or perhaps she didn't want me to. Who knows? My other complaint was the setting of Ireland....why did I never really get the feeling I was in Ireland...except for the pubs, I kept thinking I was in Britain. I know others have compared this author to Rendall and Walters (both of whom I love)...in my estimation, there's no comparison to be made. I guess you can deduce that I won't read another book by this author.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough story
Review: I was expecting this to be a can't put down thriller. However, I found it boring and too long. It's really two stories, Mary's murder and the unexciting investigation leading to the killer's capture, and then the trial and its aftermath. I never came to care for the main character, Mary's mother, and found much of her behavior in the first half unbelievable. The ending is not a surprise and neither of the stories is exciting. And there's way too much reminiscing (much of it repetitive) and lyrical description.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough story
Review: I was expecting this to be a can't put down thriller. However, I found it boring and too long. It's really two stories, Mary's murder and the unexciting investigation leading to the killer's capture, and then the trial and its aftermath. I never came to care for the main character, Mary's mother, and found much of her behavior in the first half unbelievable. The ending is not a surprise and neither of the stories is exciting. And there's way too much reminiscing (much of it repetitive) and lyrical description.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written psychological thriller
Review: Julie Parsons first novel, "Mary, Mary," is a taut, carefully crafted psychological thriller. It takes the reader through the devastating emotional havoc of a mother whose only child, Mary, is brutally raped and murdered by a psychotic killer in Dublin, Ireland. The mother's pain, and finally her surprising and just revenge at the end of the story, are powerfully described. Dublin, the city and the sea around it, provides the backdrop for the action of the novel. The mother's life (she is a psychiatrist who has left Ireland to create a successful career in New Zealand) and her relationship to her own dying mother, her child, and her former lover is gripping in its intensity. Ms. Parsons' insights into the minds of her characters are acute and powerful. This is a first rate novel, a page turner, a sensitive look at the widening circle of tragedy wrought by the sick and damaged mind of a psychotic young man, loose on the streets of Ireland.
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