Grievance

A Novel

By: Christine Bell

Narrated by: Shannon McManus

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Christine Bell's haunting and suspenseful novel draws readers into the world of a grieving widow stalked by a stranger bent on stealing away everything she has left - even her past.

After weathering the first gut-wrenching year since her husband's death, Lily Declan is trying to move past her grief and find a place of healing for herself and her two young sons.

But when a strange sympathy letter arrives, the quiet life Lily has rebuilt from her sorrow comes under stealthy, sinister attack. On her wedding anniversary, an intimate bridal gift is delivered to her door. Then, a bizarre home invasion shatters her sense of security, and a mysterious Facebook memorial appears. Like a hungry ghost, someone seeks to claim her love and loss as their own, to erase Lily from her own life and possess her beloved forever, in an embrace of macabre devotion.

As more threats follow, Lily's home and family are no longer her safe haven, and it's become difficult to tell friend from foe. But after everything she's already lost, she won't give up her memories - or her family - without a fight.

©2017 Christine Bell (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

Thriller Award Winner, Best Paperback Original, 2018

Grievance

Meh. I was disappointed with this book. The first 2/3 of the book was boring. The last 1/3 had potential but didn't make up for the slow start. The story was original and there were some twists. But, as an avid Mistry//thriller listener, I was not impressed. Ialmost returned it a couple of times. It was just okay for me. The narrator did a good job though.

Overall good book.

It was too short and not a lot of background on an important character but otherwise really great story & very well read.

Could have ended 5 minutes sooner

Went on a little too long at the end, but all in all, a great story that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat.

Crazy

I enjoyed this book- it was not what I was expecting and it kept me hooked.

VERY GOOD

I listened to nearly the whole book in one sitting while crocheting a baby blanket. It sort of had a Hand That Rock's The Cradle feel to it. I enjoyed it!

Unrequited Love gone bad....

This has a rather slow start and I really wasn't too impressed. The protagonist, Lilly has been a widow for a year. She gets a strange letter and then a phone call from a woman she doesn't know who claims to have known and loved her husband and to have been so close she knows things about him that Lilly doesn't.
Then some strange things start happening. A waitress returned an extravagant tip she never left, he entire yard is decorated for Easter and someone started a Facebook tribute to her husband and made it appear as though it was her. All of these innocuous events could not prepare her for what was to come.
I'm not sure why but I just couldn't get into this book. I would be interested in seeing what other people have to say. It's not a bad book, just for me it lacked something.
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Interesting read

Maybe it’s the headspace I’m in, but it was a far better portrayal of grief than a psychological thriller. Act 1 & 2 could have been slimmed a little better to make way for act 3 (and there’s an excellent shock when motivations are revealed), but I would have loved for this to be a first person narrative to better get into (literally) the heads of our players. Overall, a good read though, so give it a listen.

difficult

it was hard to get into book....had to restart a couple of times but then it turn into a pretty go book...

Great listen!

Loved listening to this wild story and wow what a twisted ending! Really enjoyed the performance.

bizarre story

really slow middle for such a short book, a lot of plot holes. The narrator was the only enjoyable part.