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by Harriet Lane

Harriet_Lane Thrillers_and_Suspense English

Thrillers & Suspense

Author:

Harriet Lane
ISBN:

1451673175
ISBN13:

978-1451673173
Genre:

Mystery / Thriller
Publisher:

Scribner; Reprint edition (January 8, 2013)
Pages:

240 pages
Subcategory:

Thrillers & Suspense
Language:

English
FB2 format

1323 kb
ePUB format

1807 kb
DJVU format

1336 kb
Rating:

4.7
Votes:

362
Formats:

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Harriet Lane writes with style, wrapping her suspenseful debut in lovely bits of gently creepy description, as well as delicious social critiqu. fast, sharp read. Mindy Farabee Boston Globe).

Only 4 left in stock (more on the way). Harriet Lane writes with style, wrapping her suspenseful debut in lovely bits of gently creepy description, as well as delicious social critiqu. A deft and lively brain-twist of a thriller for which the only word that seems apropos is ‘spellbinding. (Julia Keller Chicago Tribune). Controlled and precise, Lane’s writing bewitches with its undertones of implied meanings and carefully hidden secrets.

With her unforgettable protagonist, author Harriet Lane draws readers into a tightly paced tale that careens towards an audacious ending.

With this unforgettable protagonist, author Harriet Lane draws readers into a tightly paced tale that careens towards an audacious ending. Transfixing, insightful, and unsettling, Alys, Always drops readers into the mind of an enigmatic young woman whose perspective on a glamorous world shines a light on those on the outside who would risk everything to be accepted.

It is not until later that we learn the dead woman, Alys, was wife to Laurence Kyte, a distinguished novelist (his newest novel dedicated to "Alys, always").

There is a fascination about the gap between her nondescript appearance and what goes on in her head. It is not until later that we learn the dead woman, Alys, was wife to Laurence Kyte, a distinguished novelist (his newest novel dedicated to "Alys, always"). The Kytes request a meeting with Frances, through the police, but can have no clue what "closure" will open.

We’re dedicated to reader privacy so we never track you.

Alys, Always: A Novel. Alys, Always - Harriet Lane. With her unforgettable protagonist, author Harriet Lane draws readers into a tightly paced tale that careens towards an audacious ending. A suspenseful, assured literary debut that explores the dark side of desire and ambition through one woman’s unlikely entry into an elite world and a destiny of her own design. ON A BITTER WINTER’S NIGHT, Frances Thorpe comes upon the aftermath of a car crash and, while comforting the dying driver, Alys Kyte, hears her final words.

Alys, Always, the first novel by Harriet Lane, has received rather a lot of press, and all of it - without exception, as far as I'm aware - has been positive

Alys, Always, the first novel by Harriet Lane, has received rather a lot of press, and all of it - without exception, as far as I'm aware - has been positive. Given that the author is a former journalist who has written for most of the British broadsheets, this isn't so surprising. But a few things about the book grabbed my attention anyway: the beautiful cover, the promise of a story set amidst the London literary scene, the comparisons to Zoe Heller's masterful Notes On a Scandal.

The writer on seeing her first novel, Alys, Always, become a stage play directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Listening to strangers' conversations on the bus Author of HER and ALYS, ALWAYS ietLane. The writer on seeing her first novel, Alys, Always, become a stage play directed by Nicholas Hytner. 12 December 2018 ·. Bridge Theatre. Today we're talking all things Alys, Always nister will be this fantastic lot.

From the author of Her, a suspenseful, assured literary debut that explores the dark side of desire and ambition through one woman's unlikely entry into an elite world and a destiny of her own design.On a bitter winter's night, Frances Thorpe comes upon the aftermath of a car crash and, while comforting the dying driver, Alys Kyte, hears her final words. The wife of a celebrated novelist, Alys moved in rarefied circles, and when Frances agrees to meet the bereaved family, she glimpses a world entirely foreign to her: cultured, wealthy, and privileged. While slowly forging a friendship with Alys’s carelessly charismatic daughter, Frances finds her own life takes a dramatic turn, propelling her from an anonymous existence as an assistant editor for the books section of a newspaper to the dizzying heights of literary society. With her unforgettable protagonist, author Harriet Lane draws readers into a tightly paced tale that careens towards an audacious ending. Transfixing, insightful, and unsettling, Alys, Always drops us into the mind of an enigmatic young woman whose perspective on a glamorous world also shines a light on those on the outside who would risk all to become part of it.

Zeli

Harriet Lane writes a specific type of psychological suspense: there are no crazy, axe-weilding characters, there are no tragic pasts of abuse and trauma, there is no blood and gore and there are no two characters gripped in a complex web of psychological combat.

Because Harriet Lane is too sophisticated for that. Her suspense lies in the average person quietly, but intentionally seizing an opportunity to exploit or manipulate another for their own benefit...often without the target ever knowing.

It is the secret between the reader and the protagonist: you are in collusion. Because you root for this character, even as you feel discomfort (and disbelief) for what you see them do, the chances that they take, the ends to which they aspire. We already know to fear the crazies and the psychopaths. But Ms. Lane teaches us that there are dark depths to that average-looking girl you sat next to on the subway; depths that you might want to be wary of. Or terribly, terribly afraid.

The story is civilized - it is a pleasure to live in this world, and, like the protagonist, you don't want to lose it. But old-world rules of civility rule here, don't startle the other characters, or they'll bolt and you'll be left with nothing. So it becomes a slow stalking of the goal...adjusting for set-backs, flinging the net wide and drawing it in slowly....until, in the end, you realize that what you have done (because you want the protagonist to win) is to play with other peoples lives in ways they would never let you...if you had been honest with them.

Fearlessdweller

At the start of this story, protagonist Frances comes upon a car turned on its side with the injured driver, a woman, trapped within. Frances quickly phones for help. She then stays with the woman, Alice Kite, giving her words of comfort and encouragement while awaiting arrival of the ambulance. Frances later learns that the woman did not survive the accident; later yet, she learns that "Alice Kite" was actually Alys Kyte, the wife of a famous and successful author.

Up until this point, Frances has been the invisible woman, both personally and professionally. When the dead woman's family is interested in meeting Frances, she uses this "in" as her chance to appear connected in the literary world. In her job with the books column of a newspaper, she has not been noticed--but with a link to the Kyte family, her stock rises.

As the book moves forward, we see Frances ruthlessly capitalizing on each opportunity that springs from her association with the Kytes. She obviously wants to maximize the situation. As the reader, I asked myself: WHAT is she doing? I soon realized that Frances saw her opportunity and wanted to use it, exploit it--to move ahead into another social and professional stratum. And sometimes, her tactics (always secretive) are ruthless.

Most readers see Frances as overly ambitious and manipulative. Well, perhaps. But initially, she is locked into her "invisible" status. When a unique opportunity presents itself, Frances hitches her wagon to a star and works it with zeal. And who can blame her? But what emerges is a hard success-focused mindset, with Frances negotiating her path inward (with the Kytes) and subsequently upward.

As a fan of whodunnits, about half-way through I asked myself: WHERE is the mystery? Then I realized that I was right in the middle of it! The dark corridors that enclose the transformation of Frances from a mousy nobody to a driven opportunist form a mysterious and complex labyrinth of the mind. As her true nature is exposed, the reader's attention is heightened. I wondered how far her ambition would push her. It turned out that Frances, herself, was doing the pushing.

Harriet Lane's writing is impeccable. So many times I'd come across a cluster of words, a sentence or phrase, and I'd be amazed at her talent for expression. I had already read the author's book HER, and I was impressed to the point of wanting to continue reading. This book, Alys, Always is a reader's delight. No less than 5 STARS for this mesmerizing study of the dark side of ambition.

Oghmaghma

Who hasn't fantasized about morphing into someone else? preferably someone gorgeous, admired, successful, powerful and loved. Some people just fall right into the a lucky situation while others need to slog it out and fail. Frances, a 35ish copy editor has spent decades observing successful people. Quiet, subtle and unassuming Frances connives and finally weasels her way into the lives of the Kyte family - the family of a celebrity author that she meets quite by accident. How Frances succeeds in doing this is what drives the novel.
Everything falls into place very conveniently. Too conveniently but this still makes a fun read. Well written, subtle and vastly entertaining I look forward to Harriet Lane's third novel. I highly recommend Her, for another fun read.

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