Customer Reviews

The Mysteries

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up the book originally because. George R. R. Martin mentioned on his website that he was reading this book, and he seemed supportive of the author. Being a fan of the Song of Fire & Ice, I decided to check out the book.

I found the story to be very grounded in the real world, though it does end up being a faerie story. She works in the faerie aspect rather well, not having it overwhelm the development of the characters. The development is also very grounded in myths and that both site and even told at times. Through this method, she helps support the plausibility of the story.

Overall, the pacing of the story is excellent. The interspersing of flashbacks, folklore and the current narrative was excellently done, introducing information at the appropriate time as well as developing Ian and the setting.

My one complaint is that I am not sure I like the ending in the fact that there is no final resolution for Ian. He is left hanging with decisions unmade. While it does spark the imagination of the reader and I definitely wondered what would happen in a number of possible scenarios, I found the end unfulfilling.

In the end, I would definitely recommend this book. It is an excellent read.

I read this book on the recommendation of a friend and fellow bookworm. I have to say I thought it was good but not great. The overall story, pacing and incremental development of story was terrific. I also enjoyed the interspersed short chapters of accounts detailing similar disappearances, thus lending the story a more haunting and mythical feel. What brought the story down for me was the unbelievable narrator as a middle-aged American man. Ian as a character was just unconvincing, yet as a narrator was good. I found myself about halfway through really enjoying the story yet not really that interested in the other characters, Hugh and Laura. All in all if you enjoy detective novels and fantasy novels you might enjoy this one.

I love this genre, but well written fantasy is not so easy to find. Usually I have to wait for a new DeLint, Blaylock, or Powers (and a very few others). But this author, who is new to me, just blew me away with this lovely story of a man who, having had a traumatic sudden disappearance of his father, now spends his life finding people (he is a PI). But some people don't want to be found; and some people may have travelled to the world of the Sidhe. I loved the end, even though it was indeed ambiguous. It is as though the main character has a sort of ADHD of the heart or of life... but it works. I would love to see a sequeal.

An okay book that leaned a little too heavily on Celtic mythology for my tastes. I think the whole Tam Lin story has been completely run into the ground by now.

Our hero is an American detective living in London who specializes in missing persons. He's a 40 year-old man who feels slightly too restrained and under-drawn. He's hired to find the gorgeous daughter of a gorgeous woman his own age.

While doing so, he uneasily wrestles with his past which includes his father ditching the family and disppearing into a new life, and his girlfriend running out on him. There is a parallel story involving the star-crossed lovers Eidain and Miter, which serves to illustrate what our hero must do to rescue his quarry according to the standard Tam Lin premise: grab the abductee in Fairyland when she appears at Halloween and hold her through all her shapechanging until dawn to break the spell. Can our hero do it?

In terms of his love life, the story ends too ambiguously for me: his former girlfriend inexplicably makes contact. I'm not sure if he's going to go give her another chance or follow up with his gorgeous client. Oh, well. It's a fairly engaging read, but perhaps you should seek it out at the library.

Lisa Tuttle's MYSTERIES is a wonderful bit of craftsmanship, an "urban fantasy" (if you have to categorize it) with more than a dash of Raymond Chandler to it. The main character, one Ian Kennedy, ex-pat American detective, has both past and current "missing persons" mysteries in his life, including a current case which might involve, well, fairies.

What glistens here is the book's focus away from fairyland. The main concentration being on the interplay between the characters and their backstories (involving disappearances and what might-have-been), rather than wallowing in the details of the little people. This gives the magical more room to breathe and thus more impact.

Each chapter in the story is separated by a short chapter taken from folk/ghost stories involving disappearances, a device which gives nice punctuation. And there is a nice tension between the main character and several of the female characters which is just right. The ending has a nice twist to it.

Very nice.

Okay, technically it's not a comeback, but it's been a while since The Pillow Friend and I started to wonder if Tuttle had gone into retirement. Nope, she was plugging away at the brilliantly realized Mysteries.

The book reminded me of Jonathan Carroll's better works (before he started trying to live up to his own reputation), but it's filled with enough layers and complexities that it becomes a real work of literature. It's a page-turning, fast-paced thriller, it's a fantasy novel (I never read fantasy, but loved this), it's a horror novel (yep, many scenes gave me the creeps), and in the end it's well-written, cleverly plotted damned good reading. This is the work of a great writer in top fighting form and I can't remember having read a better book in a long time.

American Ian Kennedy is a private detective in London specializing in finding missing people. Fellow American Laura Lenski hires him to find her daughter Peri who has been missing for two years. Ian reads Peri's journal and talks to her former boyfriend Hugh; he realizes that once again he is dealing with a case of the Otherworld.

When he first came to the United Kingdom, he was hired by Amy's mother to look for her daughter. He meets a woman who explains how he can keep Amy in this world since she already appeared to him asking for his help before disappearing before his eyes. Peri went willingly with Mider, a fairy lord who believes she is the reincarnation of his wife Etain, who was changed into a fly by the sorceress who loved him. Peri's true love Hugh believes in the Otherworld because he has the Sight and sees the fae when no other mortal can. He an Peri also met and dealt with Mider who used magic to make Peri want to leave Hugh and go to the Otherworld with the fairy. Ian, Laura and Peri return to the place where Peri disappeared but it is not Laura or Hugh who has the best chance of finding and keeping Peri but Ian who knows how to deal with fairy glamour.

It has been a very long time since a Lisa Tuttle fantasy was published but it was well worth the wait. THE MYSTERIES is a subtle but powerful work that allows the reader to savor the lyrical prose and delight in the ways fairy interacts with mortals. Readers don't actually see the Otherworld as the author leaves that up to each person's imagination to picture it as they would like it to be. THE MYSTERIES is a special book that ensorcels the audience.

Harriet Klausner

This is a light and fun book to read. I read it in a day and found myself immersed in the story as I rooted for the main character, Ian Kennedy. There are quite a few twists and turns as Kennedy attempts to locate missing people, in particular, a young woman named Peri. I thought his character was wonderful, warts and all, and was particularly drawn to his reasons for wanting to find missing people - which is because his own father had disappeared when he was young. Of course, this is not a strictly private investigator type of story as myths and folklores along with fairies are a big part of this book. It really was a pleasure to read and I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Intriguing from start to finish. A very interesting blend of mystery, fantasy, and compelling story lines about the human condition. I've never read anything quite like it, which really appealed to me as I'm always thrilled to find something that's fresh.

i thought this book was excellent,i loved the characters and the mystery , loved the little short stories of people gone missing in the past , and thought it was superbly written,
i only wish author had website ,so i could tell her how much i liked it and to please write a sequel!