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By: CHCH 167
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2025-05-18 17:09:46 |
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All members read this book, first time in a while. All enjoyed, a lot commented that it was slow in the middle then good last part. Generated good discussion. |
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By: CHCH 240
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2025-03-28 13:54:15 |
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Our group loved this book and were entranced by the interwoven story, intriguing and addictive once through the beginning, waiting for the characters' lives to merge. Very well-written and easy to read as it flowed well. The issues were sad but true. |
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By: AUCK 465
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2025-03-10 14:52:12 |
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The group was very divided in their views. 4 of our group failed to read it, found it too hard to follow. The remainder thoroughly enjoyed it. Discussion centered around character development and descriptive language. They rated it highly - 4. |
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By: DUNED 004
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2025-01-29 14:42:44 |
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Compelling reading. |
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By: TWIZ 004
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2025-01-28 07:01:23 |
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This was enjoyed by all of our members, felt a little predictable in places but was an easy read to get into. |
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By: CHCH 238
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2024-12-16 12:58:29 |
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Beautifully written and characters well portrayed. It was a page turner. Gripping, sad, captivating and enjoyed by all our book group. |
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By: WHITBY 002
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2024-10-14 13:51:04 |
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Some found it difficult to get into but in the end we all enjoyed it. Easy to read and well-written, a different perspective when told by the victim. We were all surprised that it was written by a New Zealand author. |
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By: WAIKA 002
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2024-08-07 13:15:09 |
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Well-written. Interesting perspective being told by the murder victim. Not to everyone's taste. |
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By: WINT 001
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2024-06-30 17:21:27 |
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About half the group thoroughly enjoyed the book while the rest didn't like it at all. Everyone agreed through that it was well-written. The discussion covered many relevant issues relating to women and crime. |
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By: ALEXA 003
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2024-06-24 13:23:50 |
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Everyone loved this book, hard to believe it is the author's debut novel! Engrossing, compelling, topical - a great read. |
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By: GOVER 005
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2024-06-21 20:18:22 |
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Overall it was easy to read and a gripping story. We enjoyed the development of the characters. Some of us didn’t like the narrator being dead- it felt contrived. But we agreed it was a good exploration of women’s relationships with themselves, with other women and men. We didn’t realise the author was a NZ author or that it was her first novel !! So that’s amazing! |
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By: TIMAR 019
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2024-06-20 10:03:55 |
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Well-written. Some found the first part confronting but we all agreed that it was a page turner with interesting themes. |
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By: SUTHER 001
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2024-04-15 10:10:57 |
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Really enjoyed this book! |
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By: AUCK 058
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2024-01-22 11:27:33 |
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All members enjoyed this book and felt it covered the issue of a voice for the 'killed' in a sensitive manner. Alice was more than a body in a park (young, female, pretty). A different story (older people) but some similarity to 'The Lovely Bones'. |
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By: AUCK 277
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2024-01-17 12:43:11 |
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This was popular with our group. We were impressed that it was a debut novel by a N.Z. author. We felt it was easy to read and took a different approach to crime fiction. |
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By: AUCK 027
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2023-12-13 14:58:47 |
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One of the best books for us this year. Very well-written with interesting angles. |
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By: CHCH 468
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2023-11-28 11:39:45 |
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Disturbing but beautifully written book. The group all agreed it was a little hard to get into but soon became such a good read. We 'loved' that Alice was 'hovering' until justice was done. Very clever author. Totally recommend, but wasn't a 'read before bed book'!! |
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By: CHCH 550
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2023-10-26 09:49:29 |
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A couple of people thought it was okay, some did not finish. |
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By: NEWP 001
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2023-10-12 13:03:31 |
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Some loved the book. Some did not. |
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By: WELL 168
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2023-09-25 12:29:05 |
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This book was thoroughly enjoyed by all book group members, with it having a wide range of appeal on many counts - one to be recommended! |
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By: CHCH 529
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2023-08-21 13:54:55 |
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We really enjoyed this thought provoking book. |
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By: TAUR 004
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2023-07-12 09:59:03 |
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Some didn't finish the book, but those who did enjoyed the second half as the suspense increased. |
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By: TAUR 061
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2023-07-01 17:10:05 |
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Generally the group found this engaging and reminiscent of The Lovely Bones. The title conveyed the overriding purpose of the book. We reflected on the Grace Malone tragedy and how via various ‘voices’ we jigsawed an image of who she was. Once again, the vulnerability of being a young woman was at the centre of this work. Men held the power. |
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By: WHANG 023
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2023-06-24 19:38:38 |
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Such a deep moving story that will tug you one way then another. We found the early part of the book tedious and several almost gave up but once the narrator changed it became full on and we couldn't get enough. Excellent and better than you imagine. |
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By: NORTH 003
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2023-05-24 14:40:24 |
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The group all enjoyed the book and found it clever and unusual with engaging characters. They enjoyed the novel idea of talking through a dead person, and the macabre humour. They thought though, at times, the plot was a little clumsy and engineered. Parallels were drawn with another book, 'The Lovely Bones', by Alice Sebold. |
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By: DUNED 002
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2023-05-11 11:48:10 |
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Opinions varied on the book itself, but the issues it raised prompted very wide ranging discussion and most thought the writing style was great. |
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By: AUCK 406
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2023-05-03 14:16:54 |
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It's unanimous - we loved this book! Well-written, relevant and makes you think. A real page-turner. |
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By: INVER 001
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2023-04-19 14:15:51 |
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Those that read it were very enthusiastic about this book - great writing and very cleverly put together. Other members unfortunately read the notes first and were put off by the subject matter! Three members had already read the book and were keen to re-read it so that made others realise that there was more to the book than they thought! |
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By: ASHB 009
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2023-04-13 13:03:02 |
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This was an interesting read!! Not everyone enjoyed it but agreed that Jacqueline Bublitz is a brilliant writer. Her descriptive use of words is so good! She certainly has you wanting to know how it all ends!! |
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By: BLENH 003
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2023-03-16 13:01:10 |
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All except one ( because of a bereavement) enjoyed the book and thought it was well-written, in a very unique style. Portrayed the minds of other people with well constructed insights and lyrical prose. |
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By: AUCK 285
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2023-03-16 12:56:55 |
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Unfortunately not many readers of this book - the subject too hard to read for parents of girls. We knew the outcome so couldn't be invested in a story where there is no hope. One of our eleven however, thought it was a brilliant book - giving a voice to the victim of a crime... |
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By: NAP 005
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2023-03-15 20:13:07 |
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The group generally really enjoyed this book though some found it difficult to get into. There was much discussion on a wide range of concepts arising from the book e.g. fascination with violence against women and in particular young white girls (white girl syndrome), how such interest can quickly move from one victim to the next, how a victim's private life becomes "broadcast to the world" (with reference to NZ cases) etc. |
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By: HAMIL 003
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2023-03-13 10:13:00 |
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Everyone enjoyed the book and scored it 4. |
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By: CHCH 145
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2023-03-09 13:52:51 |
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We all thought the book was well-written. A thrilling whodunnit but so much more. Giving women a voice when normally other people speak for the dead, and dig around in their remains for a story that fits everyone's thinking of what the dead girl must have been. |
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By: TIMAR 013
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2023-03-06 14:03:49 |
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Most enjoyed the book. Some felt it was bit long and contrived. Maybe written by someone who just took a creative writing course. |
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By: AUCK 353
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2022-11-25 14:11:15 |
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Unexpectedly enjoyable, given the subject/theme. Very well-written, doesn't seem like a debut novel. Both main characters we wanted to stay with; beautiful moments in the book e.g. the connection between Noah and Ruby at the end. |
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By: CHCH 336
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2022-11-21 13:09:25 |
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The group generally really enjoyed this book, although all found it difficult to get into. Very cleverly written. Characters interesting and believable. New York setting good, places relatable. Some of the discussion questions were frustrating and long. The group had a very lively evening discussing the many aspects of the book. |
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By: CHCH 537
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2022-10-05 12:37:20 |
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We enjoyed the book, a very easy read. The characters were believable and it was beautifully written. Difficult to read for a couple of women with teenage daughters. We had no empathy for Mr Jackson - we felt No.5 question was superfluous. The book notes were good and certainly got us talking about the fascination with women who go missing. |
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By: CHCH 537
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2022-09-29 10:48:05 |
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A very easy read, enjoyed the reading, beautifully written. Reminded us of 'The Lovely Bones', great to hear the victim's voice. The age old imbalance of power between men and vulnerable young women. All the men bar Noah, had the image of narcissism. Characters are believable. |
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By: TAUR 016
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2022-09-28 10:17:26 |
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All but one of our members really enjoyed this book. Although an easy read, we felt it had depth and gave insights into human nature and, in particular, relationships between male and female and the imbalance of power. Other themes of hope, bravery and sisterhood made for an interesting and thoughtful read. We all liked the viewpoint adopted - that of a 'dead' girl, while recognising it has been used before. The intrigue of who the perpetrator was, kept us involved, and wondering. Hints dropped in were never too obvious. Cleverly written by a Kiwi writer which adds to its appeal. |
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