The Night Bus [Paperback]

Janice Law (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2001

A few months ago, Cath Tolland ran away from her life. Boarding a night bus with no credit cards or identification, using the last of her meager cash to buy a one-way ticket to Florida, Cath left behind her home, her friends, and a seemingly happy marriage--for reasons that not even she can remember.

But now Cath is back home in Connecticut, in the arms of her loving, if distant, husband Derek-and watched over, perhaps a bit too closely, by her critical sister-in-law, Yvonne. Told that her mysterious disappearance was merely another symptom of ongoing mental problems, Cath tries her hardest to piece together her fragmented memories and make sense of her sudden flight.

But why, if she has always suffered from mental problems, can, Cath remember ever speaking with a therapist? Why, if she and Derek have always had a happy marriage, is Cath beginning to remember evidence of "other women"? And-most terrifying-why does Cath feel that she should fear her husband? How much can Cath trust the vague terror that fills her memories now-the terror that may have bought her a seat on a night bus to Florida?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Cath Tolland wakes up in a hospital in Florida and has no memory of what led her there. Standing over her is a woman of whom she is vaguely fearful, and memories slowly come back to her. She returns with the woman, Yvonne, who is her sister-in-law, to Connecticut, Derek (her husband), and an isolated life of starting over. Yet her memories return as feelings, and there is an air of uneasiness about the entire household. As Cath regains her strength and memory, terrifying questions emerge: Why does she fear her husband? Why does Yvonne live with the two of them? The answers to these and other questions are disappointingly obvious. The story unfolds as expected, the suspense is momentary, yet Cath's rediscovery of herself and her inner monologues keep the story afloat. Ellie Barta-Moran
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

We first meet Cath Tolland as an anonymous passenger on the night bus to Florida, traveling in a deep personal fog that eventually lands her in a hospital emergency room. Once she's identified there, her sister-in-law Yvonne arrives from Connecticut to restore her to her husband Derek, the musician-minister she had stabbed before amnesia and flight took over. As her recovery commences at home, Cath gradually becomes aware of many things: the old house with the garden she loves, left to her by her Aunt Elizabeth; the sacred music she used to sing with Derek's church choir; her near certainty of her husband's infidelity; the tragic deaths of two young women connected to him. She visits her lawyer Luc Beausoleil to find that Aunt Elizabeth's legacy has multiplied, making her rich. Through Luc, she hires a detective agency to look further into the deaths that so disquiet her. In time, however, relations with Derek improve to the point of their spending a few days together at Derek's cabin in the woods. It's here, in this bucolic but isolated setting, that Cath faces a struggle for her life, and here that all her questions are finally answered. Law (Cross-Check, 1997, etc.) powerfully evokes Cath's uneasiness and rising tension, all in a narrative style sometimes verging on the poetic but always suspenseful. A superior performance, inarguably the author's best to date. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (September 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312875991
• ISBN-13: 978-0312875992
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,108,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting thriller, May 18, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Night Bus (Hardcover)

Catherine "Cath" Tolland was fleeing from her New England home by bus when she was mugged and suffered the head injury. She has no credit cards or other identification her and cannot remember anything about her past including her name. The police find out who she really is.

Her Connecticut husband brings Cath to what he insists was their happy home. Yet Cath begins to remember some of his affairs with his music students. Her sister-in-law insists that Cath was losing her mind before she suffered from amnesia and her runaway attempt by bus was the latest mental incident. Yet Cath wonders why she remembers no hints of psychological care. Her lawyer insists she is rich. Yet Cath wonders why she left home with no money or credit to ride a bus south. As Cath begins to recover her memory, she realizes that for years someone has been murdering Derek's most talented female students. Cath wonders if she is the killer?

THE NIGHT BUS is an exciting psychological thriller that demonstrates the width of talent of author Janice Law. The story line is fast-paced, exciting, and avoids the prime pitfalls of using amnesia as a plot mechanism. The main charcaters seem genuine due to their weird but realistic interrelationships. Although the occasional character introspection slows the tale a bit, Ms. Law shows she has the ability to bring her audience along for a ride on the darker side of human emotion.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyably, dreamily suspenseful!, January 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Night Bus (Hardcover)

I picked out this book because I sometimes enjoy psychological suspense stories and because I often find amnesia mysteries (a distinct small genre in thrillers!) to be fascinating. The first few pages seemed so anxious and uncomfortable I almost put the book aside! Then I was compelled to read a few more pages, and a few more--and then I was hooked. Now I am glad that I read the whole book, since I found it to be totally engaging and captivating. It was one of those books that became so suspenseful that I barely could look up to converse with my family at times! I found the character of Cath to be quite sympathetic, although her flights of fancy could be disturbing and I began to fear--as she did--what might lie in her past. I'm not sure I'd wish to rush to be her friend, but I had a growing compassion and affection for her as the book developed, and truly wanted everything to work out for her. I don't know if something like this story could truly happen in real life, but as fiction it was compelling, fascinating, and intriguing. The characters of the husband and sister-in-law were very complex and unusual--as was Cath's--and were revealed gradually amid engrossing suspense. I never felt as if I had it all figured out; I couldn't wait for the next revelation. The theme of music in the book was very enjoyable and added another dimension. Cath and her husband are both gifted musicians, and the wonderful music they create together provides both a calming backdrop for the dark events as well as adding adding complexity to their relationship. I recommend the book wholeheartedly as a great psychological suspense thriller.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful prose surrounds the scary, sick, and psychotic underpinnings of the Tolland family, August 12, 2009

By 

Marie Anne A. "Mary" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Night Bus (Paperback)

Cath's mysterious ride to Florida leaves her with pneumonia, head trauma, and amnesia. Sister-in-law Yvonne, with her glove covered mutilated hand, comes to the rescue. Yvonne brings Cath back to their home in Connecticut, where nothing is the same. Cath claws at snippets of memories, searching for prolems in her marriage to Derek. Derek and Yvonne try to convince Cath that she has been mentally ill for some time now. Cath struggles to break free of the claustrophobic cage of Derek and Yvonne.

Interwoven nicely are tales from Cath's past. There's her childhood, where we learn about her hippie New Age parents who are now deceased. Her trusty dog, Danny, whose death has its own set of mysterious circumstances. Stories about college, where she first met Derek and his then fiancee, who also died.

Cath doesn't know what to make of her relationship with Derek. She can't stomach Yvonne's constant presence, either. Cath beings to question her identity as she grows suspicious of the people around her. The reader can feel the walls caving in on Cath as she reasseses her life.

This book is dark and disturbing. Sometimes, the reader will want to console Cath; othertimes, berate her for not escaping her dysfunctional house. In small glimpses, Yvonne and Derek evoke sympathy, but not for long. The book brightens at the end; unfortunately, two chapters of sunshine is unneccessary.