Thorn (The Rosa Thorn Thrillers) [Paperback]

Vena Cork (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Rosa Thorn Thrillers | Publication Date: August 1, 2005

A tragedy has changed Rosa Thorn’s life forever. She’s taken the post of drama teacher at the local school that her teenage son and daughter attend, but something strange is going on. When a growing sense of unease turns into sudden violence, Rosa fears for her safety, and even more so, that of her children. For her daughter is the object of someone’s demented infatuation. But like a diseased animal, the real threat stalks the shadows, in the night-black recesses of the undergrowth—not just of the city, but of the human mind.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Thorn is one of those rare and energetic books you can’t put down yet don’t want to end. -- The Times

About the Author

Vena Cork is originally from Lancashire, but has lived in London all her adult life. She attended Homerton College, Cambridge, where she was a member of Cambridge Footlights. She is married to the art critic Richard Cork and lives in north west London. This is her first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755323947
• ISBN-13: 978-0755323944
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,702,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wonderful debut novel not to be missed, May 10, 2006

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thorn (The Rosa Thorn Thrillers) (Paperback)

For mystery buffs who have missed the excellent Claire Francis' dark and subtly nuanced mystery novels can take heart: Vena Cork seems poised to take over this niche, and quite successfully too if her debut novel, "Thorn" is anything to go by.

Rosa Thorn's life, and those of her two children, Danny and Anna, were irrevocably changed when her artist husband, Rob, was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Now, almost a whole year later, Rosa is coping not only with the pain and grief of losing Rob, but with money problems as well. As Rosa and her children try to adjust to lives without Rob, a new school (for the kids) and a new job (for Rosa), the last thing Rosa needed was to have to contend with Anna becoming the apple of the local derelict's eye. And when a young girl is found murdered nearby, Rosa begins to fear for Anna's safety -- especially since she's beginning to sense that a dark and menacing presence is keeping an eye on her family...

"Thorn" proved to be quite the page turner: it was suspenseful and gripping and full of riveting plot twists. I thought that Vena Cork did a rather masterful job of portraying the grief and sense of loss that Rosa, Danny and Anna felt, making the characters accessible and engaging. The manner in which she layered the suspense, building on the tension with each plot twist was wonderfully done as well. All in all, this was a terrific debut novel, worth sitting up and taking notice of. It was absorbing and compelling and possessed coloured the kind of dark, menacing atmosphere you want your mystery novel to have. Definitely an unputdownable.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So surprising, December 10, 2006

By 

Rosemarie Murray "ufo2" (Long Pond, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thorn (The Rosa Thorn Thrillers) (Paperback)

I was absolutely charmed by this book: the characters, the plot, the sense of forboding, all excellent. You believe you understand what's going on, and then you realize that you don't. It's like trying to watch a card sharp ply his trade. The answer is never what you think. Very good. Very very good!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best..., March 3, 2007

By 

L. L. Greer (Mississippi) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thorn (The Rosa Thorn Thrillers) (Paperback)

This novel is one of the best in the thriller genre with its likeable heroine and many plot twists and turns. I am always waiting for the next Cork novel to come out!