The Dark Backward [Paperback]

Gregory Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

Blissfully married to the man with whom she had shared a whirlwind courtship, Mary Reynolds is shocked when Geoffrey disappears, and she learns how much she did not know about him. Reprint. AB.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British writer Hall's suspenseful first novel finds an American editor, Mary Reynolds, in love and in deep trouble in the English countryside. When Mary meets Geoffrey, an attractive English journalist who daintily avoids answering questions about his past, she tumbles quickly into an engagement. Soon the newlyweds buy a house in Norfolk, a little cottage where strange events occur?beginning on Mary's first day there without Geoffrey, when a crippled dog crawls to their door only to be shot by a wealthy neighbor. Days later, Mary finds her husband dead in the forest, with no reasonable explanation for his demise but with questions that lead only to more questions. She begins to follow clues, and the chase for the truth is on. Hall takes some risks by writing from the point of view of an American woman. Readers may find amusingly improbable the British slang that rolls off Mary's tongue: "gubbins"; "jinked"; "judder." The author's prose is chatty rather than precise, moreover, and at times readers will discover more than what's necessary about the lives of one character or another while impatiently waiting for the story to continue its tense stalk toward the terrible secret that surely must be lurking in the final pages.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Newcomer Hall has created a carefully wrapped first novel whose many layers take much undoing. Mary, an American editor living in London, marries the charming Geoffrey Reynolds, an economic journalist and author. Soon after they purchase a weekend cottage in the wilds of Norfolk, however, Geoffrey dies. As she attempts to settle his estate, Mary discovers how much Geoffrey hid from her: a job resignation, an ordinary upbringing, a woman in Norfolk. Hall builds suspense by employing intricate flashbacks, frequent interruptions in thought, and psychologically telling revelations. He also adds a hint of Bronte romanticism. Literate prose for the persistent.?Rex Klett, Mitchell Community Coll., LRC, Statesville, N.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Signet (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451188500
• ISBN-13: 978-0451188502
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,139,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and mind-stimulating, August 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dark Backward (Paperback)

A good beginning and ending but slow in the middle. It holds your interest; I read it in 2 days. A complicated plot but amazingly, easily followed. The title is interesting. I'm planning to read his new novel hoping it will be as pulling as his first attempt at suspense

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down!, March 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dark Backward (Paperback)

Great suspense! I couldn't put it down at night. The story has lots of twist and turns that always keep you guessing how it is going to end.