Available now from Maclehose Press/Quercus
Translated by Sam Taylor
Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.
August 30, 1975. The day of the disappearance. The day a small New Hampshire town lost its innocence.
That summer Harry Quebert fell in love with fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan. Thirty-three years later, her body is dug up from his yard along with a manuscript copy of his career-defining novel. Quebert is the only suspect.
Marcus Goldman – Quebert’s most gifted protégé – throws off his writer’s block to clear his mentor’s name. Solving the case and penning a new bestseller soon blur together. As his book begins to take on a life of its own, the nation is gripped by the mystery of ‘The Girl Who Touched the Heart of America” But with Nola, in death as in life, nothing is ever as it seems.
This was a wonderful read for quite a few reasons – first of all the writing style is absolutely lovely, one of the best flowing novels I have read in a long time. Secondly the story was utterly compelling, a murder mystery but oh so much more than that. And thirdly the characters had a glorious depth and intrigue about them, even the most peripheral ones.
Marcus Goldman wrote a best selling novel. On a deadline to produce the next great story, his mind is blank. He turns to Harry Quebert, successful author and mentor, to help him get past it – but Harry is about to have his own problems, which ironically may end up solving the issue.
There are some dark themes here, as the story unfolds and you realise there is much more to discover both about the enigmatic Harry Quebert and his relationship with the beautiful Nola Kellergan…and indeed about Marcus himself who is a trusting soul at heart but has his trust been misplaced? Surrounding these three are many other well drawn and complex characters all adding to the drama and intrigue. Cleverly written, drip feeding the reader clues and information, fleshing out the people and events, interspersed with some interesting concepts on the art of writing, I was completely involved for the whole of the journey. There was a nice dose of ironic humour to offset the drama and I found the overall writing style to be quirky and fabulous. The ultimate solution may surprise you or it may not, but for me it made perfect sense and rounded off a most terrific read brilliantly.
Overall a magnificent read. Highly Recommended. And kudos once more to the translator, without whom I would never have been able to find out The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair.
Happy Reading Folks!
