Criminals [Import] [Hardcover]

Margot Livesey (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 271 pages
• Publisher: New York: Knopf,; First Edition edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394281756
• ISBN-13: 978-0394281759
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,769,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thin line between good and evil, September 22, 2000

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Criminals (Mass Market Paperback)

This incredible book awed me. I still haven't been able to get it out
of my mind. Having read The Missing World, I wanted to get my hands on
another Margot Livesey book. Her beautiful language is filled with
dark humor and disturbing scenes. Criminals is about selfishness and
what it takes to do the right thing. On his way to visit his
emotionally imbalanced sister, Ewan finds a baby in a bathroom at a
bus station. Frantic, he takes the baby with him. He figures that once
he's settled at his sister's house he'd be able to report the missing
baby. Little does he know that it is all part of a man's scheme to
make a profit. To make matters worse, his sister becomes emotionally
and psychologically attached to the infant. There are many disturbing
and engrossing moments in the novel, especially its disarming and
surprising conclusion. This is one of the most memorable psychological
thrillers I have ever read. There's a thin line between good and evil
and moral and criminal behavior in the story. Are you searching for a
suspenseful and literary thriller? Look no further. Criminals is a
book that will keep you turning the pages in the wee hours of the
night.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ENTERTAINING, FINELY-WOVEN TALE, December 5, 2001

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Criminals (Hardcover)

CRIMINALS is my second experience with the fine writing of Margot Livesey -- her newest, EVA MOVES THE FURNITURE, drew me in. The threads of this story are delightfully convoluted -- the fact that one of the characters is a weaver may be an unintentional metaphor, but I suspect Ms. Livesey knew exactly what she was doing in assigning her that activity.

There are many issues addressed by both the story and the people who populate it so vividly. Honesty, in many guises and forms, is chief among them -- honesty in work, in relationships with family and lovers, with ourselves, and, ultimately, with the law. Some of the characters learn from the events that transpire here -- some do not.

There are three main branches of plot in this novel -- and one of them is a book within the book...

Ewan Munro, a respected banker, on his way to visit his sister Mollie in Scotland -- who is obviously distraught over her recent separation from her lover of several years -- finds a baby in a roadside mens' room, apparently abandoned. Through a series of good intentions and botched attempts to communicate his find, he winds up bringing it with him to his sister's home. In her pain and anguish, she latches onto the baby with all of her emotions, as a virtual lifeline to the world -- and it's a tether she is terrified to break.

We also see the story develop from the perspective of Kenneth, a young n'er-do-well, looking out for no one but himself, caring not a whit for the feelings or well-being of his girlfriend -- or her child. When any emotions arise within him to cast doubt on the worth of his devious schemes, he douses them with alcohol and rationalization.

Against this action is cast the novel-within-the-novel -- written by Mollie's departed lover. Within its pages, Ewan begins to see his sister's intimate secrets revealed -- and through it he discovers the reasons behind much of her mental trauma.

As the story moves along, Livesey skillfully brings these threads together, allowing the reader to follow them comfortably through her shifts of perspective. There is well-managed suspense here, combined with some very human, credible characters -- she builds and reveals their personalities and traits gently but thoroughly. It makes for an engrossing, rewarding read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful and intelligent . . . Recommended read, May 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Criminals (Mass Market Paperback)

When a yuppie banker finds an abandoned baby girl on the floor of a bus station restroom, he ignites the passions, greed, and madness that were lying just beneath of the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. As we watch helplessly, the situation slowly spirals out of control, and the characters' carelessness, secrets, and lies lead inevitably to tragedy. Livesey shows us that we are all criminals waiting for the right set of circumstances to reveal our crimes. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would recommend it. Not exactly a mystery, or even a thriller, it is a well-written, intelligent, and suspenseful novel which I COULD put down but looked forward to picking up again.