The Souvenir

Rating:
Summary: Read it and read it again!
Review: A really compelling read with a building sense of menace and an addictively enjoyable plot. If you enjoy mystery fiction you will enjoy this one!

Rating:
Summary: A TRIP TO REMEMBER...
Review: This mystery has a wonderful feel to it of a bygone time. First published in Great Britain in 1970, it was not published in the United States until 1995. Its author, Australian Patricia Carlon, is heralded for her crime novels. Fans of Ruth Rendell, in particular, should enjoy this well-written mystery.

The mystery revolves around two teenage girls, Peta Squire and Sandra Trilby. They meet up while each is going hitch-hiking. Peta is an experienced hitch-hiker, while Sandra is a novice. After teaming up, they discover that theirs is not a match made in heaven.

After cadging a ride from an elderly couple, one of them steals a pill box with medication that proves to be a matter and death for the wife. Discarding the incriminating pill box, which had been taken as a souvenir, it is found by young children, leading to tragic circumstances.

A hunt is on for these two teenagers. Just as they are each about to go their own way, they argue violently. When a young man, Jack Burton, intervenes, he ends up being stabbed to death. But which of the two is responsible for this and the pill box incident?

Well, Peta and Sandra point the finger at each other. Their stories remain unshakable, and the murder remains unsolved, as the police could not break either of their stories. Four years later, Marion Burton, sister to the deceased, hires Private Detective Jefferson Shields to crack the case. You see, Marion has fallen in love with Ward Wincham, Peta's step-brother, and she needs to know the truth before she can take the relationship to the next level.

What Jefferson Shields discovers may or may not surprise the reader. It depends on how good a detective the reader is. The clues are all laid out, but it may not be as easy as the reader thinks. This is a tautly written, densely plotted, intriguing page turner, which I could not put down, having started it.

Rating:
Summary: Needful Things
Review: Two Australian girls, strangers to one another, decide to join forces on a hiking vacation. One of the girls is a savvy traveler, the other a complete neophyte. The match up was not made in heaven, and soon the girls are entangled in a web of forced dependence upon each other that ends up in a shocking murder of an innocent bystander.

Ms. Carlon sets us to the task of figuring out which girl did the dastardly deed. Each of their stories is seamless, verifiable, and each accuses the other of the crime. I liked the set-up; I just wished their trip was more interesting. They never seemed to have a destination and their actual routes were a dull slog indeed. There were no scenic descriptions, only a lot of dust, heat, rain and wind. Their interactions with other people were brief and rare. Their mode of transportation was hitchhiking which seems a strange choice for two middle class girls in the '70s. The author did a good job of characterizing the girls; they both seemed believable if not very likeable. That was my problem as a reader; I didn't care much what happened to them.

The solution, while neat, was not believable and I closed the book disappointed. I might give Ms. Carlon another try as she writes a tidy plot and has strong skills in characterization. "The Souvenir" needed more color and life.
-sweetmolly- Amazon[.com] Reviewer