Customer Reviews

Suspicion: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have to agree with the reviewer who said she couldn't put this book down! I, too, was up until the wee hours of the morning to see how this one ended. As a writer myself, I was completely drawn in to Emma's world and enjoyed the description of her writing routines. When they are disturbed, it makes the situation very personal, for how can anyone know that much about how one person goes about creating a world? I loved this book. Barbara Michaels is one of my favorites, and I've been looking for another supernatural/haunted house/gothic author I can read. Kudos to Ms. Rogan.

I have never heard of Barbara Rogan before, but as I often do, I judged a book by its cover and snagged this one off the shelf. I thought it was wonderful.

The family Rogan has created is enchanting, and its character's emotions are as real as they come. Jealousy, anger, mistrust; So real and alive in all of us, we can not help but to bond with Rogan's creations.

Rogan has mixed together a little horror, a lot of suspense, and quiet a bit of love to make this novel come alive. If this is a preview of her other works, I'll be sure to pick them up.

Emma Roth lives with her spouse Roger and their son Zach in Mid Manhattan until her husband decides to move the family to a Long Island town he loves. Roger locates the perfect home; an old Victorian located on an isolated cliff. Emma, author of ghost stories, realizes the house is the ideal place for a ghost to reside, but is grounded in scientific fact so scoffs at the supernatural.

As soon as the family moves into the home, Emma sees and hears strange things that no one else senses. She hears loud crashing noises, smells lavender, feels cold spots, and notices a computer game that fails to follow its programming. At one time clinically depressed and even hospitalized for her condition, Emma wonders if she is losing her mind. However, she rejects that theory and begins to wonder if someone is toying with her emotions even though she cannot understand how that individual could have access to her home. Whether it is from the mortal or supernatural planes, Emma searches for answers even as she places herself in danger.

Is this novel a well-designed ghost story or a clever psychological suspense drama? Barbara Rogan keeps the audience guessing until the very end and even then she leaves room for continual doubt. SUSPICION is a wonderful novel that captures and holds the reader's attention throughout the tale. Emma is a great character, whose doubts add to the feel of the story line. However, taking a page from the novel, this reviewer suggests readers peruse the novel if they want to know which way the book swings. By doing so, the audience will have experienced a fabulous book.

Harriet Klausner

Emma a writer who has grown up in New York loves the sounds, clutter and smells of the big city that most want to move away from. Her husband Roger is one of those people. He secretly finds a house out on Long Island in a small town and drags the reluctant Emma out to see it. She is not too thrilled with the place and does not want to leave her life in the city. One room wins her over though, a room at the top of some hidden stairs which is the perfect writer's room, 360 degree views for inspiration. Her son Zack also loves the place. Much to the disgust of her sister and part of herself she reluctantly agrees to purchase the place and relocate.

This house has a secret though. An old schoolteacher lady did some weird stuff here in her final years and the locals avoid the place claiming she haunts it. Caroline a domestic violence support worker also moves in to the small cottage down the driveway that came with the house. Roger does not like her but she quickly becomes Emma's friend.

Zack is easily the best of the players in his new soccer team and the coach a womaniser not afraid to be labelled so is very interested in Emma. Meanwhile back at the house strange stuff is occurring when Emma is all alone. Is she going insane? Is the house haunted? Or is someone from her past back for vengeance?

This is a pretty good book. I recently read Hindsight, also by Rogan just before this one which is in a whole other league above this, but this is still a good book and a worthwhile read.

I really loved this book and was sad to see it end. I am defininely going to buy other books from this writer. The book kept you guessing until the last minute who the culprit was. Every time you think you have it figured out, there was someone else thrown into the mix.

Very unpredictable and thought provoking. Very likable characters helped to shape this story.

You won't regret buying this one!!

Debi

As a lover of old houses, ghost stories, and women protagonists, this book was perfect for me. The possibilites seemed endless and it was interesting to follow Emma's train of thought, the events that led her to believe things that may or may not have been happening. Her suspicions were not all valid, and even tho some things seemed illogical, that's the point. Was it all in her head, was some of it real? Paranoia makes for interesting, sometimes frustrating, occassionaly frightening reading. Wonderful build-up at some points. Rogan's prose is easy, fresh, and hard to put down. I agree with some of the other reviewers--this one will keep you up late into the night!

This book is both suspenseful and great fun. The plot involves a writer of ghost stories who moves into a house that looks like it came out of one of her books -- and strange things start to happen. Is it a ghost that's trying to drive her out of the home, or does she have an enemy that's alive and among her friends and family -- who else would have access to the house?

This is a book to read in one sitting, so start it early enough to finish at a reasonable hour (otherwise you'll be up half the night finishing it). What I liked best was its "tongue in cheek" quality, the fun that can be had by a writer writing a story about a writer who jokes that if this were one of her novels and not real life, her dog's refusal to go up a certain staircase would be a sign of a ghost. The author's joke, of course, is that it is all really a novel -- there is no "real life."

The book was well-plotted, the characters likeable and engaging, and the author had great fun with the conventions of ghost stories.

I read some of the negative reviews here and found myself wondering if they read the same book I did. I could not put the book down. When I finished, I looked up and was surprised to find that it was 2 in the morning. I loved the characters, especially Ida Green and Mrs. Hysop with her purple pencil. I did figure out who the villain was pretty early in the book, but Ms. Rogan kept throwing me off track. I kept thinking, "well, maybe not." I don't think the ending was predictable at all. The very end leaves you still thinking something might happen. It wasn't wrapped up in a neat little package, which I appreciate. The book I read before this was written by someone who could not write her way out of a paper bag. How nice and refreshing it was to open up Ms. Rogan's book. She is a fabulous storyteller and a tremendous writer.

I started this book as a book for small breaks inbetween - and that surely didn't work. It's grasping and full of suspense. Up to the end I couldn't quite make up my mind as to who might be involved in the whole scenario and who not, and Rogan does a great job at leading the reader not only 'down the wrong path', but down multiple paths where everything is possible and the heroine herself does not know anymore whom to trust and whom not. The main-character's development was nicely done, I thought, as was the build-up of tension.
Liked the other characters, too. They're sharply drawn, no two of them alike.
And all this with a sparse to-the-point writing style. No fluff. No paragaraph worth skipping (ok, maybe one about physics - but it's really just one). The descriptions are accurate and to the point like snake-bites - reminding you of things you've seen and felt but wouldn't ever have the observance, skill, and guts to name.
I wouldn't necessarily pick this book if I was primarily fond of ghost-stories, but if one is interested in a grasping story singing with truth - the type of truth that whispers in tiny little daily details of the human mind - then this book is a real keeper.

What a great mystery. Although I had an idea who the "bad guy" was early on, the writer had me second guessing as she brought out new characters. The ghost gave a nice twist to the story too. Would have liked to see more interaction here. This book was a selection for our newly formed book club. I'll definitely read more of Barbara Rogan.