Details -
- Title: Under the Harrow
- Author: Flynn Berry
- Publication Date: June 14, 2016
- Genre: Thriller
- # of Pages: 219 (Kindle edition)
- Setting: present-day England (London, Oxford, and Marlowe)
Synopsis -
Nora is on her way to meet her sister at her home in the English countryside for one of their regularly-scheduled dinners. She imagines her sister as she cooks dinner in the kitchen or snuggled up with a bottle of wine waiting for Nora to arrive from London. The scene that she walks in on is much more shocking and sinister than she had expected. Nora finds her sister's bloody body riddled with stab wounds on the second floor of her home. We follow Nora as she recounts her most influential memories of Rachel, attempts to come to terms with this tragic event, and tries to find her killer. We watch as Nora obsesses over this event and her attempts to solve it. Will Nora be able to convince the police to keep the case open? Will Nora's investigations put herself in danger? Will she ever find the person who attacked Rachel as a teenager and is it the same person who killed her? Read Under the Harrow to find out.
Thriller Characteristics -
- Contains a thriller-esque pace in the sense that it moves quickly from one event to the other.
- The main character, Nora, is independent. At the same time, we are able to sympathize with Nora's vulnerability at losing her sister. Amidst this loss, she still prefers to go it alone.
- Combines elements of mystery. We work with our main character to find who murdered Rachel and who attacked Rachel as a teenager among other smaller mysteries.
- The tone is dark at times. There is mention of a neglectful childhood, partying, drugs, arguments, her sister's attack, and graphic details of the murder.
- The character exhibits obsessive and paranoid qualities.
Read-a-Likes -
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (on my to-read list!)
- The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (on my to-read list!)
- Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter (on my to-read list!)
Awards or Lists -
NAMED ONE OF THE ONE OF THE 10 BEST MYSTERY BOOKS AND THRILLERS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ATLANTIC
My Thoughts -
This book disappointed me. With all of the hype, raving reviews, and comparisons to Gone Girl, I expected much more from this book. It was a quick read, yes. Yes, there were secrets that I longed to know. The plot, however, did not match the thriller label in my opinion. There weren't the twists and turns and surprises that I expect from a thriller book. The conclusion came very quickly and was a bit of a let down. The writing could be tricky to follow at times. There would be mention of an event that happened earlier in the book that I could not remember reading. There were times where I started to doubt the narrator's sanity, but I think that I was just looking for breadcrumbs at that point. Yes, I read it quickly. The short chapters made it easy to read. It just wasn't a real attention-grabber like I had expected it to be. After reading this book, I am amazed at all of the reviews that have placed it as a gripping thriller. My personal opinion: don't bother with Under the Harrow. Check out the read-a-likes instead.
Hi Paige,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting such an honest review. While it is unfortunate the book did not live up to the hype or promise, in your eyes, it was refreshing to read a review of why the book fell short in some areas. It’s always such a letdown when a book is hyped up to be something so much like another novel (at least in some sort of vagueness) and then it ends up being completely different or not to your liking. Especially as you stated in this case, that it didn’t seem to fit the thriller or suspense genres. Do you currently work in a library setting where you are able to perform Reader’s Advisory services? I only ask because, unfortunately, during my Reference Services Internship this past summer, there never seemed to be an opportunity to perform Reader’s Advisory during any of my shifts. Maybe minor things but nothing too major. I was just curious how (if applicable) you deal with recommending a book you’ve read personally but perhaps have less than stellar thoughts on? Do you skip it entirely during recommendations or tell the patron your honest opinion on the book? Would you tell the patron not to bother? Or would it depend on the patron you are interacting with? How much do you share of your own personal reflections? I understand its one thing not to like a book because maybe others would like it, but it is another thing completely if you feel it didn't fit the bill as a thriller, I was just curious of how to handle that.
Hi Jonathan!
DeleteI do currently work in a public library. We do not, however, get a lot of reader's advisory questions. It is a very small library and people typically stick to either Christian fiction or the well-known thriller/suspense authors.
I am glad you brought this up, because I hadn't thought specifically about how I would react to a patron. I guess it really depends upon what they are looking for in a book. If they want a book with a gripping plot line with twists and turns, I would not even mention this one. If they are wanting something with an murder story line that is easy to read and focuses on emotion with bits of intrigue, this book might be for them. If they are a bit squeamish when it comes to the details, this book might also be up their alley. There is so much more to book recommendations than just genre. Personally, I felt like this book focuses more on the main characters relationship with her sister and dealing with her murder than anything else. I would try to explain the book without actually saying how little I liked it. Everyone has different tastes and I don't want to push mine on our patrons. I was much more honest in this post. :) I took at as an opportunity to vent my frustrations. I needed to get that out somewhere!
I think Paige is right that we don't want to push our opinions others. What I like or dislike could be very different from another person's opinions. But I haven't thought of how I will respond to a patron if they ask me if I like a book. We are instructed not to share opinions with patrons on issues like politics, or medical and legal issues, but this has never been addressed. I think Jonathan has posed a great question that we need to think through of how we will respond to patrons when we get the opportunity to do reader's advisory service.
DeleteGreat thoughts guys! Generally if my opionion about a book is different from a patrons I won't say anything. If they hate it and I hate it we can comiserate together or we can gush if we both love it. Generally, if they love a book I hated I try to think of 1 or 2 positives that I didn't entirely hate about it and share those.
DeleteI noticed the read alikes for Under the Harrow all have the words girl or woman in the title. I wonder if the female characters could be described as obsessive and paranoid like you describe for your character. I read Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train and I know the those terms would well describe their characters. I love stories that does not have a traditional good triumphs over evil ending. I like to ponder the ending well after I put the book down.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny! I didn't even notice that they all contained the word girl or woman in the title. I guess that I am so used to reading books where the main character is a woman. I don't do it on purpose, but I do feel like they are more relatable for me. It has been a while since I have read The Luckiest Girl Alive. I would necessarily call her paranoid, but she definitely has some darker secrets in her past. If you liked Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn has some other books with female main character that are not exactly what you would expect. Sharp Objects is one of them. I liked that one just as much as Gone Girl, though it didn't have quite as big of a twist that Gone Girl does.
DeleteSorry, that was supposed to be would NOT necessarily call her paranoid.
DeleteHello Paige! Great job on your thriller book annotation, even if the book was not what you expected. It's so interesting that a book like this can include many traits of thrillers but still fall short in some people's opinions. I guess this is one of the reasons we are required to read books in different genres-- we can better connect with patrons and more effectively assist them in finding books they will actually enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI think your annotation is wonderful given that you didn't enjoy the book very much. It's great that you can give an unbiased annotation of a book that you didn't like. As some of you mentioned above in regards to Jonathan's question, librarians need to be able to keep personal opinions on books out of the RA interview. Your opinion may be relevant if the reader expresses their distaste for certain elements that you also found in the book, but generally each person will enjoy different things.
ReplyDeleteI think you did great on your list of characteristics of the story because you showed the story's strengths and kept the description neutral.
This isn't a genre I typically read. I think in Reader's Advisory it might be as important to be able to help readers know what they would NOT enjoy as what they may enjoy. From your annotation and thoughts, I can definitely tell this is not a book I would enjoy. My heart would ache too much for the main character in losing her sister, that I wouldn't be able to enjoy what sounds like a mediocre thriller. Thanks for making it clear to me that I would not like to read this book!
ReplyDeleteWonderful annotation! I like that you kept it unbiased and then included your personal thoughts at the end. Very professional :) Your appeals are also wonderfully done. Full points!
ReplyDelete