Postcards from Berlin: A Novel [Hardcover]

Margaret Leroy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2003

Catriona Lydgate is a housewife with two children and an adoring husband. But beneath the surface of her seemingly perfect life are the dark secrets of the past she's tried to forget. Disturbing postcards begin arriving in the mail; she is recognized by a man who knew her from her past-an avalanche of small moments that will threaten everything she thought was real. When her youngest daughter falls ill with a mysterious illness, the doctors and even her husband suspect that she is deliberately making her child sick.As her marriage unravels, she comes dangerously close to the edge-and to losing everything that she loves-as the past she has fought so hard to bury becomes her witness and prosecutor.This is a haunting, heartbreaking novel-domestic fiction at its very finest.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margaret Leroy studied music at St. Hilda's College, Oxford, and has worked as a music therapist, play leader, shop assistant, and social worker. She is the author of numerous books and lives in London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 391 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; First Edition edition (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316738131
• ISBN-13: 978-0316738132
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Leroy has written five previous novels. Her first novel, Trust, was televised in the UK. Postcards from Berlin was a New York Times Notable Book, and Yes, My Darling Daughter was chosen for the summer reading list in O, the Oprah magazine. Margaret is married with two children and lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gripping Story, August 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Postcards from Berlin: A Novel (Hardcover)

I loved this book. I found Cat a very appealing character, and the story of her troubled childhood brought a lump to my throat. Right from the atmospheric opening, when carol singers arrive at Cat's house, the world of the story is vividly evoked. Margaret Leroy writes beautifully - the book is full of delicately described detail and sensitively observed relationships, and the love between mother and child is tenderly depicted. From the beginning, there is a sense of unease, with hints that this perfect world is going to fall apart. As the trap started to close around Cat, I found myself reading raptly, completely gripped by the story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars easy to devour, April 4, 2004

By 

lady detective "sakura kitty" (east coat) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Postcards from Berlin: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book is scary! There aren't any ghosts (except of course the past)- or creepy crawly things, but just the idea/fact that a concerned mother can bring her child in for a medical diagnosis & have the tables turned on her so quickly. In the narrator's case, the doctor's think it is she who is making her daughter ill.

And from there begins the unravelling- a marriage, the past, a life so seemingly comfortable & steady. Not only is the book quite thrilling with suspense, (will they take her child away?) it is also a meditation on what happens to a family in crisis.

This book just misses the 5 star mark by a fizzled end- the carbonated excitement went flat, & the last few paragraphs fell victim to the authorial hand. It felt like the author wasn't quite sure how to end things, so she copped out with a lame sequence- which I won't reveal.

Aside from that, the book is wonderfully gripping & I highly recommend it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absorbing Read, August 2, 2006

By 

bookloverintexas (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Postcards from Berlin: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a compelling read told very well by the protagonist/ mom about her mysteriously sick 8 year old and the family's relationships caught up in the crisis. Frighteningly, more and more people begin to believe she may be causing the child's illness. Margaret Leroy writes beautifully with fascinating characters and situations. This was a story I could hardly wait to get back to.