Black for remembrance [Hardcover]

Carlene Thompson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: New English Library (1990)
• ASIN: B000LZ915O
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Would Not have made a Clown out of Quincy, ME, June 23, 2003

By 

TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black for Remembrance (Mass Market Paperback)

Despite having a doctorate in American literature, Carlene Thompson can write. She spins great suspense and the words don't get in the way. (A lot of folk with those high faltun' lit degrees get carried away with what they think is pretty writing. It may impress themselves and their friends - but it just gets in the way of a good story. Not here.)

With crisp crystalline prose, swift and sure pacing, and grand characterization, Carlene Thompson pulls the reader into the retro-trauma of Carlene Webb, whose daughter, Hayley, was kidnapped twenty years ago. The body was found decapitated and burned. Have Hayley and her clown doll Twinkle, kidnapped with her, returned to haunt Caroline; Hayley's father, Caroline's ex-husband Chris; and Caro's current daughter, Melinda?

If, like me, you read a lot of "True Crime" and forensic books, you might see the end of this one coming - but Thompson stirs in enough red-herring people to keep the suspense stew boiling and the reader guessing. Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, January 1, 2003

By 

Marylynn "professional sleeper" (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black for Remembrance (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an awesome book from an amazing author. I could not put this book down once I started reading it. It's a good creepy book. It starts with the kidnapping and murder of Hailey Corday. Twenty years later her mother Caroline is remarried with two more children. Creepy things start to happen, Hailey's doll suddenly reappears, her daughter meets a new friend who bears a striking resemblance to Hailey. People that were involved somehow with Hailey start meeting horrible ends. Has Hailey come back from the dead? Well you'll have to read it yourself to find out. Trust me you won't be dissapointed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! This mystery kept me guessing., February 19, 2005

By 

MZ (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black for Remembrance (Mass Market Paperback)

Since this is the first book I'd read by Carlene Thompson (a present from my mother-in-law), I wondered until near the end if this book was going to be one with supernatural elements. The characters were interseting enough to keep me reading, but when I'd finally given up and decided, yep, this was going to be one of THOSE books, which was greatly disappointing.

But I kept reading. And hopefully you will too. The ending was a great surprise (and not one of THOSE books after all!), and everything came together very neatly.

What I liked most about this book was Thompson's theme, Black for Remembrance, which was well placed throughout the book. It was a great hook. The characters were pretty well rounded, too. In addition, the surprise ending was perfect: I was convinced I knew who-done-it and was WRONG.

I found very few flaws in the mystery plot of this book, in fact. I liked it so much, that I will hurry out and find another book by Thompson, hoping it's even half as good!