Customer Reviews

The Bay at Midnight

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

On August 5, 1962 Julie's life changed completely. Until then she was an inquisitive 12 year old girl who dreamed of becoming the next Nancy Drew. She even has a bread box where she keeps things she finds which may be clues to a mystery further down the road. The bread box is a secret and is buried in a corner of the yard. The only one she shares the secret with is her big sister Izzy (Isabelle).

The family is spending the summer, as usual, at their summer home. Izzy is 17 and interested in boys - especially Ned Chapman, the boy next door. Lucy is 9 and is afraid of everything so mainly stays close to home.

But Julie spends the summer playing Nancy Drew, taking the boat out on the canal and fishing with her friends on the other side of the canal. Friends she's not supposed to see because they're black. Of course, being Julie she goes anyway.

Izzy sneaks out at night to sit on the platform and meet Ned. Julie sneaks out too just to see what's going on.

All pretty typical - until Julie mixes in Izzy and Ned's relationship and their lives are changed forever. Someone is murdered and someone is convicted of the murder.

But years later, a letter is found which changes everything!

I really enjoyed this book - the story just gradually grew until it became absolutely riveting. And full of surprises. In fact, I stayed up until almost 2AM to finish the book because I couldn't put it down.

In other words, a VERY good read.

I've always loved Diane Chamberlain's work and have bought and read all her books. Any reader has favorites, of course, and I'm no exception. KEEPER OF THE LIGHT is my all-time favorite, but THE BAY AT MIDNIGHT runs a close second. It's always amazing to me how Chamberlain can give you just enough information to keep you hooked yet hold back enough to keep you in suspense about the ultimate outcome of the story. She's a marvelous writer, and her characters live in your mind for a long time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

She is SUCH a good writer! I can't wait to see what she is coming up with next. Every book is different - and every one just has these unexpected twists and turns that keep you reading longer than you intended to.... like when you need sleep.

The characters in this one are just wonderful. My favorite was Maria - the grandmother, 'though most of the story is told by one of her daughters, Julie, a writer of mystery novels, who was 12 when her sister dies and feels responsible for her part in her sisters death.

The story goes from present day back and forth to 1962 where Maria's loses her daughter Izzy in a tragedy at the age of 17 at Bay Head Shores, in New Jersey - the family summer site. The story revolves around two families that lived next door to each other and spent their summers together at the Bay.

Now, over 40 years have passed and an apparent note left by a dying man (who was the victims boyfriend when she died) indicates that a man prosecuted for murdering Izzy may have been innocent and so the case is reopened, and so are all the memories and scars of that fateful night that the tragedy occured for everyone at the Bay, and how it affected all their lives.

There are a few other stories going on here, be prepared to stay up late. Diane flawlessly crafts her characters so you won't easily forget them once you've finished this. I read this in two days, I wanted to savor it a bit longer, but just could not put it down, like many others of her novels. Loved it and highly recommend it.

Diane Chamberlain never fails to deliver an interesting story with well defined characters and The Bay At Midnight is no exception.

In trying to describe her writing, I can't possibly do her justice. I never fail to recommend her books to people who want a well written and unique story. The characters are all believable with flaws and virtues that make them seem real (and realistic), as well as likeable. This writing ability adds to the reading enjoyment, as the people in the stories aren't clearly divided by "the good" or "the bad", adding to the suspense as the plot reveals unexpected twists and turns.

I won't go into the story line, but anyone who has ever visited or stayed at a beach community will find much to recognize here, with that bit of familiarity making it possible to almost envision it all, so well does Diane Chamberlain write. I happened to read this while on vacation at the beach, making it all the more enjoyable.

I highly recommend not only this book, but all the books written by this author.

Izzy died 41 years ago. Her death still haunts her sisters, especially Julie. Izzy was a beautiful 17 year-old. Adolescently rebellious and very much in love with Ned. The feeling was mutual. Izzy's and Ned's families were neighbours; every summer their families would spend lovely, care-free holidays in their respective cottages by a canal, with a beach nearby. 41 years later, something shifts in a story that seemed to belong to a never-forgotten past.

The narrative does not let you "into" the story immediately, not even about the long-ago murder, so I do not want to spoil it for future readers, you will have to find out bit by bit. The story is recounted by three characters: Julie, her sister Lucy and their mother, Maria. They all recount the events from long ago with a juxtaposition in the present day. It never becomes confusing though. Technically, I would say that the story is interesting enough to keep you turning the pages, but I was not completely satisfied. I mean, it is an intriguing enough mystery but I would have shortened the book a bit, especially where some characters are concerned, Julie's daughter Shannon in primis (present day). Not because "I didn't like her" but I felt that that particular story-line was quite detached from all the rest (excluding the matriarchal connections, if you will), it was a bit unnecessary. It could have been another book. And some other events, quite far-fetched, especially the epilogue.

On the other hand I did appreciate the psychological insight, especially where Julie is concerned. She has always felt guilty about her sister's death. Her feelings and emotions are very well expressed.

All in all, not a great read, but not bad either. My true vote, 3.5 stars.

In Westfield, Abby Worley visits Julie Bauer explaining that her father Ethan was a childhood friend in Bay Head Shores, New Jersey before the tragedy that linked their families forever forty-one years ago. Julie remembers Ethan, but had a crush on his older brother Ned, who was her older sister Isabel's boyfriend. Abby further explains that her Uncle Ned recently died from cirrhosis after a lifetime of drinking to forget the homicide. He left behind a note for the Point Pleasant Police Department in which he insisted that the wrong person paid for Isabel's murder.

Julie wants to ignore this revelation since the convicted killer George Lewis died in prison five years ago. However, she always felt that George was innocent. She knows that the murder colored her world to the point of overprotecting her seventeen years old daughter, Shannon, who now plans to move to her father's home having recently graduated from high school. Even her relationships with her mother and her younger sister are tainted by the trauma. Unable to resist, Julie begins making inquiries into what really happened over four decades ago that destroyed more than just a teenager.

This is an exciting amateur sleuth family drama that stars a fabulous ensemble cast including deceased people. The story line switches first person accounts though Julie is the prime narrator. That provides insight into various characters, but also makes for difficulty in following the plot as three families are interwoven by the homicide. Still Diane Chamberlain provides a tense engaging thriller that her fans will appreciate, but to fully cherish the tale concentration is needed to keep track.

Harriet Klausner

A beautiful young girl. A tragedy on a moonlit night. In 1962, Isabelle Bauer drowned in Bay Head Shores. Her death, ruled a homicide, remained an unsolved mystery despite the fact that a local man was found guilty and spent the rest of his life in prison for the murder. Isabelle's mother and sisters don't talk about her or what happened on that hot August night. Until the day that Julie Bauer, who was 12 years old during that fateful summer, receives a visitor bearing a letter that may or may not shed light on the case.

This is a novel about what happens when secrets are kept and passions are denied. It's about what happens when love is confusing and mistakes are made. The events of that particular night and others during the summer leading up to it are examined from three different points of view. Maria (mother to Isabelle, Julie and Lucy) tells her story, each of the daughters relates what part she played in the unfolding drama, and Julie's daughter, Shannon is meanwhile creating problems of her own that lead the women to finally deal with 40 years of anger, silence, suspicion, guilt, and shame.

The reason I like the novels that Diane Chamberlain writes is because she writes believable characters. This suspense story, set in two different time periods -- 1962 and present day - is a wonderful mystery featuring three generations of women. Those women, a grandmother, two middle-aged daughters, and a teen granddaughter, are so real that they seem to be people that you know who have feelings that you have or that you've had in the past. The interactions and the relationship that they have, the type of personalities and the deep attachment they display, will definitely touch the hearts of readers as the narrative unfolds.

Highly recommend to all fans of romantic suspense novels and to those who enjoy a good family story with a multi-generational cast of interesting women.

Not only does C. Chamberlain give us a love story, a mystery, etc., she reminds us of what it was like "way back when"...also...a story that comes full circle. She has done it again, and I can't write enough about her books. This one is one of my favorites...who would have thought that after SO many years, a mystery would be solved???

I have read several of Diane Chamberlain's books in the past and have enjoyed them. This one was no exception. It was nice to read a book were the main characters were not in their mid thirties, but older with some life experience. Julie, Lucy and Maria were very interesting, realistic, well written characters. Even though I had pretty much figured out what happened half way through the book, it was interesting seeing how the story unfolded. If I have one complaint with the book, it was with the way the character of Shannon was written. Teenage girls written as selfish, brainless idiots in books have always been one of my major pet peeves. I wish she could have been written as a little bit more sympathetic. Regardless, this was a great read.

I absolutely love the way Diane writes. She develops the characters so beautifully that you can dream about them and feel like they're "real" and part of your life. And you hate to see the story end. As always when I'm reading her novels, I lose sleep trying to finish the book when it's too exciting to put down. I loved the mystery, the love story, the single mom point of view and the humor as well. It has it all----as Diane's stories always do. She's one of the best. I always look forward to her next book and know that I will enjoy it thoroughly. I always do. She never disappoints me. She just keeps getting better and better----when I think she's already the best. She thinks like a social worker and her stories show that part of her past life. Another great read from a truly wonderful woman.