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Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend, Polly, comes to stay. Very soon Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted.... Is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again.
A gripping novel full of shocking reveals, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse and Kerry Fisher. The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It's the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours, and children play in the street. Isabelle Heatherington doesn't fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon captures the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers. But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide.
When Margaret's fiancé, John, is hospitalized for depression, she faces a choice: carry on with their plans or leave. She decides to marry him. This is the story of what unfolds from this act of love and faith, when their three children help their mother to care for Michael. Told in alternating points of view by all five members of the family, this searing, gut-wrenching and yet frequently hilarious novel brings alive with remarkable poignancy the depth of family love.
You'd recognise my mother's name if I told it to you. You'd wonder, briefly, where is she now? And didn't she have a daughter while she was missing? And whatever happened to the little girl? Helena's home is like anyone else's. With a husband and two daughters, and a job she enjoys. But no one knows the truth about her childhood. Born into captivity and brought up in an isolated cabin until she was 12, Helena was raised to be a killer by the man who kept her captive – her own father.
Two suburban women. Two dark secrets. The almost perfect murder. Everybody needs good neighbours.... Melissa and Hester have lived next door to each other for years. When Melissa's daughter was younger, Hester was almost like a grandmother to her. But recently they haven't been so close. Hester has plans to change all that. It's obvious to her that despite Melissa's outwardly glamorous and successful life, she needs Hester's help.
Then - In charge of her little sister at the beach, Claire allowed Eleanor to walk to the shop alone to buy an ice cream. Placing a coin into her hand, Claire told her to be quick, knowing how much she wanted the freedom. Eleanor never came back. Now - The time has finally come to sell the family farm and Claire is organizing a reunion of her dearest friends, the same friends who were present the day her sister went missing. When another girl disappears, long-buried secrets begin to surface.
Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend, Polly, comes to stay. Very soon Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted.... Is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again.
A gripping novel full of shocking reveals, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Amanda Prowse and Kerry Fisher. The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It's the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours, and children play in the street. Isabelle Heatherington doesn't fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon captures the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers. But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide.
When Margaret's fiancé, John, is hospitalized for depression, she faces a choice: carry on with their plans or leave. She decides to marry him. This is the story of what unfolds from this act of love and faith, when their three children help their mother to care for Michael. Told in alternating points of view by all five members of the family, this searing, gut-wrenching and yet frequently hilarious novel brings alive with remarkable poignancy the depth of family love.
You'd recognise my mother's name if I told it to you. You'd wonder, briefly, where is she now? And didn't she have a daughter while she was missing? And whatever happened to the little girl? Helena's home is like anyone else's. With a husband and two daughters, and a job she enjoys. But no one knows the truth about her childhood. Born into captivity and brought up in an isolated cabin until she was 12, Helena was raised to be a killer by the man who kept her captive – her own father.
Two suburban women. Two dark secrets. The almost perfect murder. Everybody needs good neighbours.... Melissa and Hester have lived next door to each other for years. When Melissa's daughter was younger, Hester was almost like a grandmother to her. But recently they haven't been so close. Hester has plans to change all that. It's obvious to her that despite Melissa's outwardly glamorous and successful life, she needs Hester's help.
Then - In charge of her little sister at the beach, Claire allowed Eleanor to walk to the shop alone to buy an ice cream. Placing a coin into her hand, Claire told her to be quick, knowing how much she wanted the freedom. Eleanor never came back. Now - The time has finally come to sell the family farm and Claire is organizing a reunion of her dearest friends, the same friends who were present the day her sister went missing. When another girl disappears, long-buried secrets begin to surface.
Amber Patterson is tired of being a nobody: an invisible woman who melts into the background. She deserves more. She deserves a life of wealth, luxury and leisure. Daphne Parrish is the golden girl of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut. With her model looks, her picture-perfect mansion and her millionaire husband, Jackson, she has everything Amber wants.
What if your best friend’s child disappears? On your watch? What would you do? This is exactly what happens to Lisa Kallisto one freezing December in the English Lakes. Her whole world descends into the stuff of nightmares. Because, not only is 13-year-old Lucinda missing, and not only is it all Lisa’s fault, but she’s the second teenage girl to disappear within a fortnight. And the first one turned up stripped bare, after suffering from a terrifying ordeal. Wracked with guilt over her mistake, and after being publicly blamed by Lucinda’s family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong.
Behold the man: Stinking, drunk, brutal and bloodthirsty, Henry Drax is a harpooner on the Volunteer, a Yorkshire whaling ship bound for the hunting waters of the Arctic Circle. Also aboard is Patrick Sumner, an ex-army surgeon with a shattered reputation, no money, and no better option than to embark as ship's medic on this ill-fated voyage.
When you listen to this audiobook, you will make many assumptions. It's about a jealous wife obsessed with her replacement. It's about a younger woman set to marry the man she loves. The first wife seems like a disaster; her replacement is the perfect woman. You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships. You will be wrong.
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down Dr. Annick Swenson, who has disappeared in the Amazon while working on a valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her, Marina’s research partner Anders Eckman, died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding her former mentor as well as answers to several troubling questions about her friend’s death.
Mary has been nursing a secret. Forty years ago, she made a choice that would change her world for ever, and alter the path of someone she holds dear. Beth is searching for answers. She has never known the truth about her parentage, but finding out could be the lifeline her sick child so desperately needs. When Beth finds a faded newspaper cutting amongst her mother's things, she realises the key to her son's future lies in her own past. She must go back to where it all began to unlock...the Secret.
Alison is lucky, and she knows it. She has the life she always craved, including a happy home with Jeff and their brilliant, vivacious teenage daughter, Katherine - the absolute centre of Alison's world. Then a knock at the door ends life as they know it. Fifteen years ago someone else took Alison's baby from the hospital. And now Alison is facing the unthinkable. Her daughter belongs to someone else. What would you do if you discovered your beloved child is not yours?
In 1944, 23-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina. Hickory is a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Tess' new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she's trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
Oliver Ryan is a handsome and charismatic success story. He lives in the suburbs with his wife, Alice, who illustrates his award-winning children's books and gives him her unstinting devotion. Their life together is one of enviable privilege and ease - enviable until, one evening after supper, Oliver attacks Alice and beats her into a coma. In the aftermath, as everyone tries to make sense of his astonishing act of savagery, Oliver tells his story.
How can a child vanish without a trace? Last night, eight-year-old Daisy Mason disappeared from a summer party at her home. No-one at the party noticed her leave. Even her parents aren't sure of the last time they saw her. DI Adam Fawley is trying to keep an open mind. But he knows that in nine cases out of 10, it's someone close to the victim. When a pair of bloody tights is discovered, Fawley's worst suspicions are concerned. Someone knows where Daisy is. And her time is running out.
If you don't know who is walking through the door, how do you know if you should let them in? Karen is meant to be the one who fixes problems. It's her job as a psychiatrist - and it's always been her role as a friend. But Jessica is different. She should be the patient, the one Karen helps. But she knows things about Karen. Her friends, her personal life. Things no patient should know. And Karen is starting to wonder if she should have let her in.
If someone took away your perfect life, how far would you go to get it back? Ellen's family is her world. So when her husband leaves her for another woman, she is almost destroyed. But not quite, because Ellen has a plan, a way to make those who have hurt her suffer. Leila is the other woman. She finally has everything she ever wanted. But Leila's brother has come back into her life, raking up a past that needs to stay buried. One of them will pay for their actions with their life, but which one?
An immensely talented writer whose work has been described as “incandescent” (Kirkus) and “poetic” (Booklist), Thomas Christopher Greene pens a haunting and deeply affecting portrait of one couple at their best and worst. Inspired by a personal loss, Greene explores the way that tragedy and time assail one man’s memories of his life and loves. Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of Vermont’s elite Lancaster School. It is the place he feels has given him his life, but is also the site of his undoing as events spiral out of his control. Found wandering naked in Central Park, he begins to tell his story to the police, but his memories collide into one another, and the true nature of things, a narrative of love, of marriage, of family and of a tragedy Arthur does not know how to address emerges. Luminous and atmospheric, bringing to life the tight-knit enclave of a quintessential New England boarding school, the novel is part mystery, part love story and an exploration of the ties of place and family. The Headmaster’s Wife stands as a moving elegy to the power of love as an antidote to grief.
This is a novel which, by turns, reveals the agony of love, grief, and movement into madness. It begins with a dreamy, brief scene depicting Arthur Winthrop, a headmaster in a Vermont boarding school, with his wife and small son, enjoying a family moment in Central Park. This scene is told in a way that evokes sense of a lovely impressionist painting. This is quickly followed by an abrupt shift, Arthur having been arrested for nudity in the park, and now being pressured by the police for an explanation. Only his mind is a jumble of confused memories.
Told in three parts, with only the first is related by Arthur himself, as he reveals to the listener an escalating plunge into confusion and loss of self control, losing his grip on the steady reserved life he has previously led. He says he is seeking "eternal truth," but the listener is witness to a man losing his hold on reality.
This is a story told through flashbacks, first and third person viewpoint, and a great deal of poetic language providing the atmosphere and mood. We piece it together as the author gives us glimpses into the slow decompensation of a man's mind.Although Arthur is far from an admirable character, I felt compelled to want to learn what led to his dissolution, and what follows is a revelation of events that clarify emotions so powerful that they are, to him, almost incomprehensible. The narration is quite good. It is a challenge to write a review without saying things that would give too much away. However, I found this a very intense story, well-written and well read.
13 of 15 people found this review helpful
ok. spent some time thinking about this book...and maybe the fact that I couldn't decide how to review it should make me give it a higher review..but i don't know, i just can't.
while the book is beautifully written...i just felt something was incomplete in the story. it is a very slow build and nothing in particular made me want to keep reading (though i did, to the end, so maybe it's sadness made me want to know how it ends). i guess i just felt like while there was some worthwhile prose and some interesting commentary on grief and how people handle it....but i'm not sure the book as a whole felt complete and i don't think i would recommend it to anyone.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
What disappointed you about The Headmaster's Wife?
Sad, depressing book, with a disappointing ending.
Would you ever listen to anything by Thomas Christopher Greene again?
probably not.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Nothing, the narrator did his best.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Sadness & disappointment really sum it up.
Any additional comments?
I couldn't wait for it to be over.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
What would have made The Headmaster's Wife better?
A better story, better narrators. The people in the story are so miserable, by the end I felt there were no redeeming qualities.
What could Thomas Christopher Greene have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
The characters were well developed, maybe over-developed, but the story was lacking in development. The ending was so boring.
Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?
NO!
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Not really
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I listened to "The Headmaster's Wife" while I was working on something else or while I was driving. I'm glad I didn't waste any actual time listening to this story because the story is dragged on at times.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The most interesting: The characters remembering the same events very differently. The least interesting: When Arthur elaborates on his fixation with Betsy. I felt like I was hearing the whispers of an aging pervert going through a mid-life crisis.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
There were parts of the book that made me want to just forward to the very end. The only reason I stuck through the entire book was just so I'd reach the end. The book is split up into three parts; 1) Arthur and Betsy (Arthur's version); 2) Betsy and Arthur (Betsy's version) and 3) the present.
Could you see The Headmaster's Wife being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
The narrator's performance could have been better but he's not the reason I didn't enjoy the book very much.
Any additional comments?
This is a sad book. Don't read this book if you're depressed. This book did not make me feel any better about aging. If anything, the author only highlighted the insecurities felt by aging people.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I would say it was time well-spent, but there were times I wanted to give up on it. I was glad I did not. I found the first part of the story difficult to listen to mainly because I detested the character telling it. As the book progresses and the other points of view are revealed, my opinion of him changed. That is not to say I began to like him, but I understood him better.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The performance was well done; every character was recognizable.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Yes.
Any additional comments?
The book was well written and imaginative. It is important to stick with it to the end, though. The beginning is difficult.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Where does The Headmaster's Wife rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This was a compelling story, but the first half was marred by the monotone of the male narrator. Tavia Gilbert narrated the second half of the book, and she was excellent, as always.
What other book might you compare The Headmaster's Wife to and why?
This reminded me of "The Silent Wife" and "Gone Girl". All (3) narratives are told from alternating POV.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The ending was beautiful, hopeful, and sweet. Vivid and lovely prose throughout.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
The story line is weak but it held my attention while walking on the treadmill.
It started out good but went downhill pretty quickly. Very superficial. I was extremely disappointed. The narration was good though.
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
No. I just didn't like the way the story line was going nor the voice of the narrator.
What could Thomas Christopher Greene have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
He should have gotten my attention more in the beginning.
What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?
His voice irrateted me.
Could you see The Headmaster's Wife being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
Didn't get that far.
Any additional comments?
I may finish it at another time, guess it just didn't appeal to me at this time.