Customer Reviews

Look Closely

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With three previous regular chick lit novels under her belt, Laura Caldwell's latest book "Look Closely" is a suspense/mystery chick lit novel - one that I found hard to put down.

It all begins when New York City Attorney Hailey Sutter receives an anonymous letter one day that simply reads: "There is no statute of limitations on murder. Look closely". Immediately Hailey knows that the note has something to do with her mother's death, which happened over twenty years ago but has always been shrouded in mystery and silence. As a matter of fact, she has been estranged from her sister and brother her entire adult life, and her father, who practices for the same law firm as Hailey, always closes up whenever the subject is brought up.

Hailey decides to once and for all solve the mystery of what really happened to her mother. The only problem is, she has no memory of the night, although she was supposedly present. And nobody's talking. So she hops on a plane and returns to the small coastal town she lived in, and begins digging deeper. The timing is bad unfortunately since she is embroiled in a tough case with a difficult client and trying to make partner in the law firm, but she manages to juggle her travel plans accordingly. And slowly, she begins uncovering details she had previously known little (if anything) about. She also suddenly starts having flashbacks of the night her mother died.

Soon, it's as though everyone could be a suspect or is hiding something: her father, who is definitely holding out on some important information and who wants Hailey to stop the investigation; the sweet, handsome Tyler who runs a hotel in the town Hailey once lived in that is inexplicably nice and helpful (and whose father had originally been assigned the details of her mother's death); her brother and sister, who she manages to track down just in time for them to suddenly and mysteriously disappear; and others. Hailey knows she is in danger and is certain that nobody wants her to know the truth. But why?

I loved this book! "Look Closely" was a page-turner of a novel that I got into immediately. Caldwell has a way of drawing the reader in within the first chapter, and this book is no exception. This book has tons of suspense, mystery, a dash of subtle romance, and some of the usual chick lit elements. I was also pleasantly and completely shocked at the ending.

There did seem to be a couple of tiny loose plot threads that didn't seem to get resolved in the end, but they were small enough to have not taken anything away from this wonderful novel.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to all suspense fans, and to anyone who enjoys a smart, exciting chick lit mystery.

For me, the measure of success in a popular mystery novel is whether I want to keep turning the pages. In this book, I did. I'm a fairly fast reader, but I grew impatient with my inability to turn pages as fast as plot twists developed.

This isn't a deep psychological study of a family, but there is plenty to consider about how the truths (or partial truths) of our childhoods shape our lives. Supposedly forgotten events imprint themselves in ways that allow memory to recover itself when the time is right. This story is about how the right time unfolds.

The fast pace develops, to an extent, from the bustling life of a young attorney in Manhattan. She is smart, likeable, and interesting. And the book is populated by similarly intriguing characters, people whom we can easily imagine given their realistic dialog and occasional foibles.

As I closed the book, a few glitches became apparent to me, but these did not stop or even slow my progress through a very readable mystery. Given the parameters of this story, I do not know whether Laura Caldwell will be able to reprise her characters. But it would be nice to meet them again.

I've read so many different books over the years, so when I find one that appeals to me more than the others, you can bet i'll review it. Although "look closely" was highly predictable by page 200, I still found myself not being able to put it down. The characters are somewhat memorable, but because so many only have small parts (i.e. maddy and ty), you forget about them after the book is through. I won't give too much away, but right after being introduced to Sean Mcknight, things started falling into place. If you want a book that you can read straight through w/o gettin bored, this one is it, just don't expect to be surprised when you get to the end.

Laura Caldwell may have made her well-earned reputation in the chick-lit field, but here she demonstrates that her talent is bigger than that label. A solidly crafted mystery, this book may shake up your own beliefs about who you are and how you got that way. And isn't that what great fiction--in any genre--is supposed to do?

I say it was a fast read, only because for me, one who rarely finishes a book, I wasn't able to put it down.

While visiting Chicago a few weeks ago, I came across a local magazine covering author Laura Caldwell. I was drawn to her "chick flick" history and went to the book store, only to find "Look Closely". Having lived in Chicago, I loved the references to places Hailey had visited while in town. And, having visited the Michigan shores, I could picture this childhood town she grew up.

I can't wait to read another one of Laura Caldwell's books. I think I finally found an author I could really enjoy and relate to the characters. Thumbs up for sure!

The unsigned letter contained a cryptic message of "There is no statute of limitations on murder. LOOK CLOSELY". Manhattan attorney Hailey Sutter has no idea who sent it, but knows what the writer is alluding to, the accidental death of her mother Leah when she was only seven years old.

Over the next two decades whenever Hailey asked her father what happened, he insisted she was ill and tells her no more including what happened to her two siblings who vanished without a trace just after Leah died. However, this time with the letter as a catalyst, she begins asking questions and learns that her mom died from a head injury. Not long after that Hailey begins remembering flashes of what happened on that fatal night and starts to wonder if her father killed her mother.

LOOK CLOSELY is a thrilling who-done-it that the audience wants to know the truth once Hailey gets the letter and decides she needs to know especially if her dad killed her mom and what happened to her siblings. The story line is fast-paced as the heroine begins exploring her mind for clues and seeking knowledge from others who might have tidbits. Though Hailey seems too egocentric, the audience will allow her that because of what occurred when she was a child but still not like her. Laura Caldwell provides a solid thriller that hoods readers with the need to know.

Harriet Klausner

The deep suspicions harbored by Hailey Sutter towards her immediate family members on the mysterious death surrounding her mother is expertly crafted to keep the readers on edge for the major portion of the plot. Its intriguing to readers why on earth Hailey's father failed to communicate any knowledge of the whereabouts of Hailey's elder brother & sister after more than 20 years.

Just when you think it may sound too preposterous an idea that a close family member whom you live with fail to disclose their whereabouts and were not declared missing even on police records, the plot regains credibility when Hailey investigates for herself and finds the spouses of her missing brother & sister. It is through the spouses that Hailey gains a better insight into her long lost siblings. Hailey finds out through letters sent to her former family maid, Della, that her elder sister is mentally disturbed having been institutionalized at some point after high school.

Just when the plot was building nicely towards the resolution, the events that unfolded in the last chapter canceled out the suspense. What was so infuriating was the far fetched revealation of who did what to whom and the need to keep Hailey in the dark about the mystery of her immediate family members!!

On the whole, it is a readable suspense novel except for the ending.

I don't know if I'm hypercritical or what, but lately I have a hard time reading books where the author's lack of craft and subtlety interferes with the story. I bought this book because I really like two of Laura Caldwell's other books, and this one got high ratings from reviewers. I thought I was in for another fun read, and I was certainly not distracted by her technique in other books. It's almost like it was written by someone else entirely.

The premise of the story, that Hailey Sutter is looking into her mother's death based on a note she receives, is an intriguing one. But the author has to repeat again and again how isolated Hailey is, and after a while I found the whole "recovered memories" thing to be a bit ridiculous. Maybe I don't understand enough about the psychology of this process, but I just found it a little silly. For example, as she's having a conversation, or taking a tour through her old house, she suddenly pauses, Christopher Walken style, and has a flashback of a memory she's never known about before. I mean, does this happen to real people? I just didn't buy it after the fourth or fifth time it happened. Without ruining the ending, I have to say that it made me roll my eyes in the same vein.

I'll keep trying Laura Caldwell's books because I liked her other ones, but skip this one if you have a low tolerance level for authors who tell instead of show.

Up until the last third of this book, I would have given it a ratng of "5". The descriptions were well crafted, the suspense was taut and plausible, and I liked the fragile chemistry that was developing between the heroine and the owner of the B&B. Unfortunately, a succession of coincidences and contrivances turned my earlier evaluation into a "1". At the end of the day, there seemed to have been little rationale for all of the scandalous subterfuge that took place. I'll probably give this author another try but my spidey senses are already cautioning me not to get my hopes up, especially if it's another mystery.

Hailey Sutter is a high-powered attorney up for partner at her father's Manhattan law firm. An important arbitration meeting brings her to Chicago, not far from her childhood home, which she left abruptly at the age of seven after her mother's death. Her receipt of an anonymous note shortly before her trip leads Hailey to visit her old neighborhood and start asking the questions she's been afraid to ask before: how did her mother die, and why did her death lead to the dissolution of Hailey's family? (She hasn't seen her brother and sister in more than twenty years.) Hailey's investigation, meanwhile, stirs up some long-forgotten memories, but they are frustratingly incomplete. Throughout, Hailey's father, though mostly off-scene, looms as a menacing entity.

Upon reflection, having finished Look Closely, I would argue that the premise is hard to swallow. And Hailey's repressed memories--which so often bring her just to the point of grasping something important--are interrupted too often by noises or someone talking to her, so that the pattern of memory followed by interruption seems lazy. But while reading the book I was for the most part thoroughly engrossed. Caldwell does a great job of keeping us guessing about the bad guy and worrying about the truth that Haley is slowly uncovering. This one was a page turner.

-- Debra Hamel