Customer Reviews

Misfortune (Hb)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are looking for some good summer reading, this terrific book by this young new author is simply perfect ! It is fast reading but very thoughtful ... and the "plot thickens" with each new character who is introduced !

The characters are each unique and all bring something new to the "proverbial table", which makes the mystery increasingly intriguing. And the descriptions of life and individuals in the Hamptons are frighteningly accurate !

I assure you of one thing: you will NOT want to put this book down !

Enjoy !

Misfortune is a riveting family drama. This murder-mystery is psychologically suspenseful and will keep you turning the pages to discover what's next. Frances Pratt is a touching and appealing heroine. Recommended summer reading!

I enjoyed Misfortune and thought it was so wonderfully written with a host of exciting characters.

Cleo Pratt was an obnoxious woman who was not liked by many in South Hampton, Long Island. She did not hide her racial prejudice or the pride she seemed to exhibit to those not as wealthy as she was. She was selfish and thought only about her comforts and her husband's.

It is no wonder when she is found dead in the powder room at the Fair Lawn Country Club, it becomes an extremely difficult task trying to seek out her murderer, for Cleo Pratt has made so many enemies for herself.

You will meet Beverly Winters whom she gossiped about after her husband's suicide; Henry Lewis a surgeon whom she was instrumental in blocking from becoming a member of the Country Club because of his race ; her stepdaughters Blair and Frances whom she treated like second class citizens when they were in her habitation; a partner in their firm Pratt Capital who she wants to squeeze out, and many many more of the high society you will encounter.

Be prepared to have at least a day to two for this page turner. When all is revealed you will see how well written and how cleverly concealed is the murderer ... Happy reading! I loved it!

Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 30/05/02)

When I read, I like to learn about other places and since this subject and location were very close to the author's I found it to be enlightening. Clio was a complex character, obnoxious for sure, but also showed great strength in caring for the people she loved. Her characters were not ALL bad or ALL good. Her father who she adored certainly would have benefitted his daughters if he'd had more of a backbone. I look forward to her next book.

Things have never gone well for Frances and Blair with their stepmother Clio. Their father seems happy, but they feel shut out. Many people had reasons to dislike Clio in the exclusive upscale Long Island town where the Fair Lawn Country Club is the mecca for the rich. When Clio dies during a tennis tournament there are many suspects. Frances puts her job as a lawyer on the line when she investigates Clio's murder over the wishes of her boss. The case develops into a voyage of personal discovery as she uncovers the true lives beneath the facades of the rich neighbors. Frances comes to a new understanding of the patterns of love in her family and in her own relationships. Uncovering the killer brings Frances even more revalations about her own character. The author shows how many faceted our motives and characters are. As Nancy Geary shows us, we rarely understand what drives other people fully, even our own families.

Clio Pratt made sure the membership committee of the Fair Lawn Country Club of Southampton, Long Island rejected the application of cardiologist Dr. Henry Lewis because he is black. She follows that friendly gesture by refusing to lend any money to her stepdaughter Suffolk County prosecutor Frances Pratt. Other individuals also suffer from Clio's cantankerous clout.

Someone finally decides that they have suffered enough from this nasty person. That individual kills Clio. Though a potential conflict of interest, Frances leads the investigation into the murder of her stepmother starting at the country club where the body was found. Frances soon finds a plethora of suspects all with motives and opportunities as numerous people were negatively impacted by Clio's ugliness.

MISFORTUNE is an entertaining who-done-it that cleverly sets up the reader with numerous suspects who fell victim to Clio's sting. When the story line follows Clio around and subsequently Frances making inquiries, the plot works like magic. When the tale focuses on life in Southampton it seems too shallow and out of focus. Nancy Geary's debut tale is fortunate for those readers who enjoy a pleasurable regional mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Misfortune is one of the best mysteries I've ever read. Set in the bizarre world of Long Island High Society (can it get any more bizarre?) Frances must find a deadly killer among a cast of characters rich in dollars and drama. They come from Wall Street, Board Rooms, Hospitals and Country Clubs. They each hate the same person. Each suspect has a motive and a deep secret that must not be revealed. They will stop at nothing to protect themselves and shatter their adversaries as their very lives hang in the balance. This is detective work at it's best from a great new writer.

Beautifully written, I found this novel to be riveting and compelling as suspense, and at the same time an astonishingly brilliant view of pride and prejudice, the wealthiest among us, and the landscape of the human condition. This novel is a great and powerful entertainment in the tradition of Turow, and rich and sweeping in the tradition of Wharton. There are several trivial books set in Southampton;but Misfortune is not one of them, rather a novel written by an author who knows and understands her world by backgound and writing skill--and reveals it with uncanny brilliance. A delight to read this debut novel!

Ms. Geary's book is wonderful on a superficial level as a perfect 'who done it.' However, what sets the work apart are the subtle layers that lie beneath the basic plot. The human condition is the foundation from which the more complex, and wonderfully interesting, story springs quietly, yet poignantly. The portrayal of an aristocracy that is so foreign to most Americans is both approachable and intriguing. Ms. Geary has appeared on the scene with an unbeatable combination of force and grace. Brava !!!

The story read like a college paper outline -- such a cookie cutter approach! The first half of the book you meet and learn all the suspects -- then the crime -- then the investigation of the suspects -- and finally a twist at the end when we learn who really committed the crime. The author tried too hard in the second half to make us think that each suspect was the murderer. I was bored to tears. A waste of time.