Customer Reviews

Sacrament of Lies

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

 

 

A keen insight into Louisinan polictics by the wife of Robert Olen Butler.

Grayson Guillory finds a clue that leads her to suspect her father, soon-to-be husband, and other family members and friends of the murder of her mother. Although it appears Grayson's mother committed suicide, the clue and her intuition lead her to believe otherwise.

At the same time she must fight her own fears that perhaps she, like her mother, is suffering from paranoia and may have inherited some of her mother's mental problems.

Given this, Grayson, must examine her past life with her father and mother and her present relationships with her fiance. We are left to wonder if Grayson could be wrong in her suspicions.

Although the ending is somewhat predictable, we are led there by captivating monologue which will raise questions about family,love and most of all loyalty. Along the way we are treated to a nice taste of New Orleans and Mardi Gras.

Upon being dragged, by my husband, to a book reading for Ms. Dewberry's husband, Robert Olen Butler, I surprisingly found myself purchasing Elizebeth Dewberry's novel, Sacrement of Lies.
I suppose I was intrigued, since the novel's backdrop is based in my hometown, New Orleans. Whatever the reason, I am thouroughly pleased with my purchase as I was unable to put the book down. Ms. Dewberry tells a fascinating murder mystery through the mind and encounters of her protagonist, Grayson Giullory. Using analogies which are clever and easy to relate to, her writing style is refreshingly different. Truly a pageturner, Sacrament of Lies, is now one of my top ten favorite reads. I look forward to reading her other works!

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you..." A mentally ill woman in her thirties unravels, then unravels the truth. If you loved A Thousand Acres as a retelling of Lear, you will enjoy this book as a modern retelling of Hamlet, replete with visits from beyond the grave and a male Ophelia who meets a watery death. The writing is fantastic, and the story is a maze, winding tighter and tighter until the center is reached. Readers looking for a standard psychological thriller might want to keep looking, as there's not much sleuthing here. What the book does show, and show perfectly, is the effect of fear and depression on a person's ability to function on even the basic level. Highly recommended.

Dewberry's heroine, Grayson, is the daughter of an imaginary governor of Louisiana. We meet her as she begins to wonder if her father killed her mentally-disturbed mother -- or if her speculations are merely the product of her own disturbed mind.
It is a gripping idea. Imagine that you're related to a powerful governor: to whom do you relate your suspicions? The troopers are sworn to guard the governor, not question his behavior. And as another politician notes, this governor is good for the state. His rival would actually do harm.
Following a divorce, Grayson now lives with a man who works for her father. She herself does some unspecified work for the family. She's truly surrounded.
As other reviewers note, the ending is disappointing: it depends on coincidence and not on the heroine's own cleverness. Yet even earlier, I began to wonder: How realistic is this situation? And I began to get impatient with Grayson. Why doesn't this smart, well-educated, reasonably well-off woman get herself some good professional psychotherapy? She doesn't have to go to her mother's psychiatrist: Tulane boasts a first-rate medical school. Her most pressing problem, of course, is "Did father kill mother?" But long ago she should have faced a longer-term issue: life without father. She needs to grow up and find her own place in life, make friends with people who don't know her father, and find something to do with herself.
The New Orleans background was well-done. It helps if you've read Julie Smith's Skip Landon series. Skip broke away from the unique social pressures of the city. Grayson needs to do the same.

Great premise and a very involving plotline. Nicely done (and accurate) description of depression and its influence on one's reality. For once, the old phrase, "couldn't put it down" is true; I literally did not put it down until the end...and that involved toting it to meals, too!

As the daughter of the Governor of Louisiana one would think that Grayson had everything. However, she is reeling from the shock of her mother's apparent suicide and her father's reaction ofthe death. Governor Guillory immediately cremates his spouse. Not long afterward, he remarries his sister-in-law knowing he needs a stable steady wife for his bid to gain the White House. Meanwhile Grayson remains grieving her mom's death, but as her mind clears she begins to wonder if her father had her mother murdered.

As Grayson relooks what she knows about that terrible night, she contemplates whether she is insane having inherited her mother's mental problems or is she the daughter of a matricide killer. Grayson concludes with a strong certainty that her father is capable of removing a wife by homicide that would derail his presidency run. Still she questions her paranoia speculating the role her husband played in the death of her mother and whether the two males will remove her too if she makes waves that threaten to flood the presidential run.

As Blue Hen advertises, SACRAMENT OF LIES modernizes Hamlet with a gender-changing lead role. The story line is superb due to Grayson with her doubts about her mind and the men in her life. This serves to make her plight feel real, while leaving the audience to speculate on the truth. Fans of taut psychological thrillers will fully relish her quandary and want to read more tales by Elizabeth Dewberry.

Harriet Klausner

i've read and enjoyed ms. dewberry's other books but found this one disappointing. the character development wasn't much but the ending didn't work at all. i wish she'd taken time to develop this more because it's a wonderful idea and could've been a great book.

What was touted as a murder mystery was in truth a uneven monologue by the suspicious daughter of a power hungry politician. What you found out at the very beginning, you knew at the end, but the plot was never developed enough to keep you wondering.Ms. Dewberry has a fine style of writing, but needs to work on character development and intrigue.

The story was good, the writing was good, BUT - - - I was more than a little shocked at the usage of "four letter" words. Could definitely have done without that!