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kendramartin 's review for:
Stone's Fall
by Iain Pears
I'm glad I received Stone's Fall at a recent CBC Books trivia night! I dove into this hefty tome looking for some light, enjoyable reading and that's what I got. I would describe the story as historical mystery with a little suspense thrown in. We begin the onion-like story in London 1909: an incredibly wealthy financier, John Stone, has been found dead. His widow hires a journalist to ostensbily write her husband's biography, but in fact ferret out a mystery revealed Stone's will. As the search commences, more is revealed about Stone's life and rise to wealth, but we are really left with more questions than answers. The second part travels back in place and time to Paris 1890s and follows the life of a British spy introduced in the first part and his connection to Stone. Finally, the last part is Stone's narrative in Venice 1868, where many more questions are his life are answered.
I said the story was onion-like, and I applaud Iain Pears for his effective narrative that slowly reveals more and more about Stone's life and all the characters along the way, but by going back in time! I wasn't expecting to be so surprised by the very end. I won't spoil the plot, so just to say that I thought I had everything figured out, but the final two pages threw in a twist I was not expecting at all.
I said the story was onion-like, and I applaud Iain Pears for his effective narrative that slowly reveals more and more about Stone's life and all the characters along the way, but by going back in time! I wasn't expecting to be so surprised by the very end. I won't spoil the plot, so just to say that I thought I had everything figured out, but the final two pages threw in a twist I was not expecting at all.