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A review by tessa_talks_books
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
5.0
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Helen is expecting and so far, so good with this pregnancy. When her husband and other family members don’t show up for their first pre-natal class, Helen is forced to make friends with Rachel, the only other non-partnered person in the class. And from that point on in the story, everything gets twisty, turny, and jaw-droppingly crazy.
What I Enjoyed:
I enjoyed the psychological play in this story where nothing and no one is as they seem. The pace of the story is incredibly fast, with new twists and revealed secrets with the turning of each page. Everyone is suspect, and it is hard to discern fact from fiction until it is laid out at the end.
The story takes a few steps back in time that are brief and not confusing yet add to the suspense as just enough clues are dropped to understand how they relate to the current situation. And then there are also a few brief sections, simply titled Greenwich Park, which are obscure and add to the suspense and atmosphere just purely based on the situation unfolding in the scene.
In all, there are three narrators, and I would qualify as unreliable at least two of them. Of course, I won’t tell you which two because what fun would that be. The three narrators are Helen, Serena – Helen’s older brother’s wife, and Katie, Helen’s younger brother’s girlfriend. Helen is on leave from work because she has some issues with high blood pressure while pregnant. Serena is a professional photographer and also pregnant, and Katie is a journalist. Three professional ladies who are respected in their particular field hold so many secrets from each other that it’s hard to discern who is telling the truth and who is lying.
Characters:
All of the characters were developed okay. Enough so you could understand them but not to the point where you could guess anything before the plot reveals it.
Rachel is my favorite character, which may seem odd to some, especially those who have read the book. She’s just so interesting that she immediately draws my attention and holds it for the duration. I liked that she enjoyed shocking people even when it also shocked me. I could easily see why Helen was drawn to her against her better judgment, and I think I would have also been.
What I Wish:
The ending is so well wrapped up, but I love a creepy open-ended conclusion. I know many people don’t, but that’s my favorite kind of ending for this genre.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a story that will spin you around, you have to give Greenwich Park a go. You never know where each door in the wall around the park will lead you.
Helen is expecting and so far, so good with this pregnancy. When her husband and other family members don’t show up for their first pre-natal class, Helen is forced to make friends with Rachel, the only other non-partnered person in the class. And from that point on in the story, everything gets twisty, turny, and jaw-droppingly crazy.
What I Enjoyed:
I enjoyed the psychological play in this story where nothing and no one is as they seem. The pace of the story is incredibly fast, with new twists and revealed secrets with the turning of each page. Everyone is suspect, and it is hard to discern fact from fiction until it is laid out at the end.
The story takes a few steps back in time that are brief and not confusing yet add to the suspense as just enough clues are dropped to understand how they relate to the current situation. And then there are also a few brief sections, simply titled Greenwich Park, which are obscure and add to the suspense and atmosphere just purely based on the situation unfolding in the scene.
In all, there are three narrators, and I would qualify as unreliable at least two of them. Of course, I won’t tell you which two because what fun would that be. The three narrators are Helen, Serena – Helen’s older brother’s wife, and Katie, Helen’s younger brother’s girlfriend. Helen is on leave from work because she has some issues with high blood pressure while pregnant. Serena is a professional photographer and also pregnant, and Katie is a journalist. Three professional ladies who are respected in their particular field hold so many secrets from each other that it’s hard to discern who is telling the truth and who is lying.
Characters:
All of the characters were developed okay. Enough so you could understand them but not to the point where you could guess anything before the plot reveals it.
Rachel is my favorite character, which may seem odd to some, especially those who have read the book. She’s just so interesting that she immediately draws my attention and holds it for the duration. I liked that she enjoyed shocking people even when it also shocked me. I could easily see why Helen was drawn to her against her better judgment, and I think I would have also been.
What I Wish:
The ending is so well wrapped up, but I love a creepy open-ended conclusion. I know many people don’t, but that’s my favorite kind of ending for this genre.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a story that will spin you around, you have to give Greenwich Park a go. You never know where each door in the wall around the park will lead you.