MARY, MARY : A NOVEL

Rating:
Summary: An Exceptional Thriller
Review: Not normally a reader of thrillers, I was glad to happen upon this new Irish talent over recent holiday weekends. A complete change from the Minette Walters and Clare Francis tales of deceit and dastardly deeds, Julie Parsons moves away from that style of thriller apparently written exclusively for the female reader and into thriller territory to send a chill up every readers' spine. A story of many kinds of love - mostly disappointed love at that - "Mary Mary" is primarily the story of main character, Margaret and her relationship with her young, murdered daughter, Mary. Margaret is a character out of the ordinary, cooler than most, less giving, less an open book than the modern thriller allows but all the more fascinating for that. The secondary characters, a tough cop, a straightlaced barrister and a confused weirdo are also second to none, sympathetic and consistently developed in time with the plot. With this book, you can't review the plot without giving terrible things away, but suffice to say, Parsons is a master of pace and tension. As a native of Ireland's second city, Cork, I'd only wish she could have written such a love letter to my home town and not the capital, Dublin. A great, gripping read and a writer from whom I hope to read more.

Rating:
Summary: An Exceptional Thriller
Review: Not normally a reader of thrillers, I was glad to happen upon this new Irish talent over recent holiday weekends. A complete change from the Minette Walters and Clare Francis tales of deceit and dastardly deeds, Julie Parsons moves away from that style of thriller apparently written exclusively for the female reader and into thriller territory to send a chill up every readers' spine. A story of many kinds of love - mostly disappointed love at that - "Mary Mary" is primarily the story of main character, Margaret and her relationship with her young, murdered daughter, Mary. Margaret is a character out of the ordinary, cooler than most, less giving, less an open book than the modern thriller allows but all the more fascinating for that. The secondary characters, a tough cop, a straightlaced barrister and a confused weirdo are also second to none, sympathetic and consistently developed in time with the plot. With this book, you can't review the plot without giving terrible things away, but suffice to say, Parsons is a master of pace and tension. As a native of Ireland's second city, Cork, I'd only wish she could have written such a love letter to my home town and not the capital, Dublin. A great, gripping read and a writer from whom I hope to read more.

Rating:
Summary: STORIES OUT OF MY RADIUS
Review: Shameful to admit, but I rarely read current fictional books which have stories set outside of the U.S. - isn't that horrid? OK, OK, lash me. But I picked up this book and IMMEDIATELY became engrossed as I stood in the bookstore. Had to buy it and, as cliche as it sounds, I really couldn't put it down. I felt the characters were very well developed, dialogue was realistic, and for me, the plot was well driven. Not your usual summer "thriller" this feels like a real story. Loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Twisting and Turning
Review: This is the first book I have read by Julie Parsons. I immediately got "involved" in the characters and wanted to really get into their psyches. I found the flashbacks a bit confusing in parts, but all in all I really enjoyed the book. Especially the ending, sweet revenge. I was disappointed by where Pasrons took McLoughlin's character though, I had higher hopes for him.