⇒ Libro Gratis Before the Poison Peter Robinson 9781444704839 Books

Before the Poison Peter Robinson 9781444704839 Books

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Before the Poison Peter Robinson 9781444704839 Books

In 1953, a woman is convicted of murdering her much older husband in order to be with her lover; as was done in England at that time, she is subsequently hanged for her offense. In 2010, her house in Yorkshire is bought by a composer of music for films, as he mourns the recent death of his wife. While he works on a new composition, he finds himself more and more fascinated by the long-ago murder, and as he starts digging into the past, he begins to wonder if there had been a massive miscarriage of justice all those years ago…."Before the Poison" is a stand-alone novel from Peter Robinson, best known for his Inspector Banks series, and it’s quite an amazing book, ranging as it does from topics as diverse as snow storms to medical experimentation to war crimes; absolutely riveting and highly recommended!


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Before the Poison Peter Robinson 9781444704839 Books Reviews

I, personally, had never read any of Peter Robinson's books prior this novel. 'Before the Poison' is written as a stand alone and that was right. The book is a complete and satisfying experience all in one story.

It opens with a Hollywood composer returning home to England after many fulfilling years in California. The Character, Chris Lowndes is sixty and a new widower. The draw to continue his life in England in the Yorkshire dales is a mystery to his mother and brother, but, you quickly realize that Chris needs to find an 'ending' to his marriage/death and his childhood memories. Then, Chris will be freed to live his future.

Chris buys via internet, a property. The house exceeds his needs but he quickly feels at home. There is an atmosphere which feeds his composer heart but also tells him, through shadows, voices, and even a vision in a mirror, that perhaps the house is not completely at 'rest.' Why?

The 'why' is revealed slowly to Chris but not to us, the readers. The Author cleverly leads us directly into the mystery of the house and not gently. Rather through a shocking view of a prison hanging.

This novel is not a cozy murder but more an investigative look at a cold case. Did Grace kill her husband or not? Was it justified or not? These are just a few questions that arise. I think you will enjoy the journey to the answers, and let's not forget Chris' mysteries as well.

A good British murder mystery set from the 1950's to 2010's.
I have a lot of Peter Robinson - all of the DCI Banks series, so the Yorkshire setting of most of this novel is familiar. Chris Lowndes moves to Yorkshire from Los Angeles and discovers that a previous owner of his new large house was hanged for murdering her doctor husband. He comes to believe that she was innocent and sets out to prove it. In the end he can not prove that she is innocent but he still believes it so the whole point of the novel is lost on me. A large part of the novel is devoted to discovering and developing the character of Grace Fox, and maybe THIS is the whole point. Chris is able to leave some new information with the granddaughter of Grace Fox but it is she who supplied him with the most critical information in the first place. The whole structure of this novel is muddy. I always feel that anything worth reading is worth reading twice. I won't read this novel again.
I really enjoyed the early Inspector Alan Banks series, although I lost track after #10, I think. So I’m making a mental note to return to them shortly.

However, I stumbled across this stand-alone novel by the same author, and what a unexpected surprise it was. Rich in physical and emotional imagery, though not overburdened with either, the story unfolded at a leisurely pace, allowing the reader to actually get to know the main characters on more than a superficial basis, weaving in bits of backstory among the details of Christopher Lowndes’s recently-acquired single status in a large, rather isolated House with a History on the Yorkshire moors, quite the departure from his previous upscale life in Los Angeles. The mystery here—you knew there had to be a mystery!—unfolded just as gradually, told in part by quotes from a 1950s “true crime” compilation of famous trials and a journal written by the former owner of Lowndes’s house, a woman hanged for murder more than 60 years ago.

This novel is not a police procedural, a Hitchcockian or Christie mystery, or a brooding Gothic piece, despite the Yorkshire setting. True, it has elements of mystery about it, but more important, I think, it is more appropriately a story of loss, of the hidden chambers of the human heart, and how it is possible, though certainly not desirable, to live with uncertainties on a number of levels. I don’t mean to sound cryptic, but there are elements here that should not be spoiled with too much iteration, so I’ll leave it to you to discover them on your own.

I expect there may well be folks who won't care for this novel because it doesn't move along at breakneck speed, leaving the reader breathless as s/he hurtles toward a rousing climax where “all is revealed” in a Perry Mason courtroom fashion. If instead you are in the mood for a well-written, subtly nuanced, involving story with characters, living and dead, you will care about, and a natural, emotionally captivating and believable denouement, I recommend this novel. So take a break, catch your breath, and relax with this one.

As always, I don’t do plot recaps. Go read other reviews for those.
In 1953, a woman is convicted of murdering her much older husband in order to be with her lover; as was done in England at that time, she is subsequently hanged for her offense. In 2010, her house in Yorkshire is bought by a composer of music for films, as he mourns the recent death of his wife. While he works on a new composition, he finds himself more and more fascinated by the long-ago murder, and as he starts digging into the past, he begins to wonder if there had been a massive miscarriage of justice all those years ago…."Before the Poison" is a stand-alone novel from Peter Robinson, best known for his Inspector Banks series, and it’s quite an amazing book, ranging as it does from topics as diverse as snow storms to medical experimentation to war crimes; absolutely riveting and highly recommended!