3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing and mysterious, January 29, 2001
This review is from: The Greenway (Mass Market Paperback)
The Greenway by Jane Adams jumped out at me due to author Minette Walters comments on the book. While The Greenway is far from the fabulous writings of Ms. Walters, it does have it's own blend of suspense and some interesting twists and turns.
The plot kept me reading past my stop on the bus but I never really fully felt the characters, they were not fully formed nor very sympathetic. They seemed very wooden to me but I really wanted to know what happened to Suzie! The novel opens with Cassie Malthams perpetual nightmare of the day her cousin Suzie disappeared. They were young children playing on the greenway - one moment Suzie was there and the next she had vanished.
Cassie and her husband decide to return to the sleepy village many years later so that Cassie can face her fears and move on with her life - only as Cassie returns another young girl vanishes from the greenway. The police see the connection as does the press and Cassie must face her worst nightmares to help save a child's life as well as save her sanity.
While I felt the ending lacked a bit - I did enjoy the read. The writing was light and moved quickly and the plot stayed very intriguing from start to finish. I only wish Jane Adams had drawn stronger characters.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Green, green, I'm going away to where the grass is greener still." Song Lyrics, July 10, 2010
This review is from: The Greenway (Mass Market Paperback)
When Cassie Maltham was age ten, she and her twelve-year-old cousin, Suzie Ashmore, decided to take a shortcut home. They went through an old, covered path called The Greenway.
Carrie later told officials that everything went strange, she states that she must have lost consciousness and when she awoke, Suzie was missing. Suzie was never seen again.
Cassie has been haunted by this for twenty years. Now she returns with her husband, Fergus, and friends Somon and Anna. She wants to face her fears and discover what happened.
Not long after her arrival, the area is shocked when another girl goes missing. This girl is the same age that Suzie was when she vanished and it's in the same area.
Detective Inspector Mike Croft leads the investigation and John Tynan, who investigated Suzie's disappearance, comes out of retirement to help. They wonder what the connection is between the two missing girls and if they can trust Cassie. She's the only link between two missing children.
With an interesting demonstration of character development, the author shows that Cassie does something heroic that changes the investigation but her actions were as if she was in a trance or a dream, she can't explain it.
The author does well in setting the scene and describing the characters. I enjoyed the story but found the plot a bit difficult to accept. The story was written in a realistic manner but then a spiritual, ghostly element was added. Perhaps this would have been better if it was stated to be a paranormal mystery.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another British Mistress of Mystery, August 14, 2000
This review is from: The Greenway (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked this book up randomly and I am glad I did! The tight plot, believable characters, and suspenseful pacing are reminiscent of Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters. The only drawback is that after you whip through this book, you'll want to read more by her and her other works are very hard to find in the U.S. If you can find it, check out Adams' Cast the First Stone.
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