Playing Happy Families (Hardcover)

by Julian Symons (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A much-honored English author of nearly 30 crime novels, Symons (Sweet Adelaide) again dissects the English middle class in a plot with a twin-screwed narrative. But this time, Symons uncharacteristically delivers less than the book initially promises. The adult children of John and Eleanor Midway gather for their parents' 30th wedding anniversary. Champagne is poured; good food is served. But a crisis changes the lives of the Midways, or perhaps it renders visible aspects of their lives formerly hidden. Their firebrand daughter Jenny vanishes one afternoon; she is revealed as wild and promiscuous. In grief, John falls into the arms of his secretary, while Eleanor becomes an unlikely restaurant mogul. Eleanor's son Eversley, visiting from America, negotiates the sale of a priceless work of art with the gallery where Jenny worked. That odd coincidence sets Detective Superintendent Hilary Catchpole on a hunt for a killer. Symons struggles here on several fronts: his sexually liberated youngsters aren't convincing, and a subplot dealing with John's cross-dressing brother seems a pointless diversion. The impressive talent behind such works as Death's Darkest Face is conspicuously absent in this tale, which is neither taut nor especially knowing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
A dark and somber story, Symons' latest is most assuredly not about happy families, even though one would think the Midways, gathered together to celebrate John and Eleanor's thirtieth wedding anniversary, had plenty to be happy about. John is a successful personnel director for MultiCorpus, Eleanor is a happy homemaker, and their three children, Jenny, David, and Eversley, are seemingly well adjusted, thriving adults. But the pleasant stability of the Midways' lives vanishes when Jenny inexplicably goes missing. Detective Superintendent Hilary Catchpole, called in to investigate Jenny's disappearance, soon discovers that the Midways are not what they seem and that there are dark and dangerous undercurrents swirling beneath the family's placid surface. The tenacious Catchpole scrutinizes, pokes, and probes until he finds Jenny, but in the process, he exposes a complex web of bizarre secrets and behaviors. Written in the style of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James, Symons' story is a finely drawn study of family relationships as well as a darkly riveting and intense mystery. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892965789
• ISBN-13: 978-0892965786
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,575,678 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Bizarre, December 20, 2000

By	Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Playing Happy Families (Hardcover)

I am not sure whether I enjoyed the book or not. It is definitely engrossing, but none of the characters are very sympathetic. I didn't like any of them. There are alot of strange and useless plot twists that add nothing to the story. The plot line involving the missing person's uncle is entirely gratuitous. On the other hand, I was engrossed in trying to find out what happened to Jenny, so I read it to the end. I admit that I was surprised by the conclusion.