Folly

An acclaimed master of suspense creates a heroine you will never forget in this superbly chilling novel of a woman who begins a desperate undertaking that may transform her life—or end it.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOUR WORST FEARS AREN’T ALL IN YOUR MIND?

Rae Newborn is a woman on the edge: on the edge of sanity, on the edge of tragedy, and now on the edge of the world. She has moved to an island at the far reaches of the continent to restore the house of an equally haunted figure, her mysterious great-uncle; but as her life begins to rebuild itself along with the house, his story starts to wrap around hers. Powerful forces are stirring, but Rae cannot see where her reality leaves off and his fate begins.

Fifty-two years old, Rae must battle the feelings that have long tormented her—panic, melancholy, and a skin-crawling sense of watchers behind the trees. Before she came here, she believed that most of the things she feared existed only in her mind. And who can say, as disturbing incidents multiply, if any of the watchers on Folly Island might be real? Is Rae paranoid, as her family and the police believe, or is the threat real? Is the island alive with promise—or with dangers?

With Folly, award-winning author LAURIE R. KING once again powerfully redefines psychological suspense on a sophisticated and harrowing new level, and proves why legions of readers and reviewers have named her a master of the genre.

"Acclaimed mystery writer King has crafted a labyrinthian tale that is as haunting as it is touching."—People

©2001 Laurie R. King (P)2001 Recorded Books

Slow! Slow story but well written.

I have enjoyed King's mysteries with Mary Russell in the Beekeeping series. They have a smooth intellectual pace with action enough to keep me interested. This title I found slow and unnecessarily complicated with long descriptions. I gave up listening after 5 hours & searched ahead in Pt. 2 for clues to the introduction of additional characters or action. Okay, I found them & went back to listening in order. The action peaks in the last 3 hours of a 16 hour book.

"Folly" is best described as a psychological mystery with long periods of descriptions of inner thoughts, landscapes, & interpersonal relationships. It is well & cleanly written. It takes place mostly in the Northwest San Juan Islands & a fictional island in the chain. The narrator is surprisingly appropriate even though the voice is that of a middle aged woman. He "sounds" like Rae perfectly.

Buy "Folly" if the title is discounted or if you are a dedicated King fan.

Enriched

This book is very very good. It's not my usual suspense novel. It's hardly able to call itself one. However, I loved it. I feel like I'm a better person to have read it, experienced it, and in a sense, lived it. The narration is fantastic. The storyline had me hooked within an hour. Sometimes you read a book and you know that, though it was alright, you'll forget about it after a month or two (those airport fictions). I will remember this book for years to come.

Possibly one of the best books I've ever read...

First of all, let me say that Laurie R. King is one of my favorite authors. She has two different mystery series (Mary Russell, Kate Martinelli) which are quite popular and very accessible. But she writes these other books which sometimes deal with harder topics. One of these is the book _A Darker Place_ is based on a professor helping the FBI by going undercover into a religious sect. And then there's Folly.

Folly is the story of a woman recovering from a mental breakdown. While institutionalized for her attempted suicide, she found a book about a man rebuilding himself by building a house. She decides to follow this path and rebuild an old house on a private island in the San Juan Islands. While hospitalized, she plans her project out and is able to convince/fool medical people/family that she's ready to do this. She arrives on the island Folly in the early spring and plans on getting the house done before winter. There's no electricity, no water system, no way off of the island. On the positive side, she makes arrangement for a local man to bring her groceries/supplies once a week and the has the finances to help.

What's important to remember is that when she arrives on the island, she's extremely mentally fragile. She probably makes her life harder by going off of her meds which means that she's coping with panic attacks; guilt about how she raised her first daughter; and extreme grief for the loss of her husband and second daughter.

In the process of rebuilding the house she rebuilds herself.

This makes the book sound depressing -- and it isn't. Because of the inner narration, you're well aware of the intensity of her panic attacks and grief. With time, you see the woman grow in a strong, capable woman.

I don't want to spoil the story by going into further details but I found this one of the best recent works of fiction I've read in years.

Narrator to avoid

What made the experience of listening to Folly the most enjoyable?

The plot was slow to unfold and the book a tad longer than it should have been but I did enjoy the listen.

What aspect of Frank Muller’s performance would you have changed?

The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a full 4 stars was the narrator, Frank Muller. His narration was delivered in such an affected manner it was ridiculous and almost unreadable.

Original and Engaging

I was led to this book because of my love of Frank Muller's readings. It's interesting that this is a Laurie King book and I discovered Frank through Stephen King's books. In any case I enjoyed the concept of this story and the opportunities for suspense and healing that it provided. It was a very entertaining listen and has led me to other books by this author which I also have enjoyed, but this is my favorite so far and it could be because of Frank Muller's reading. It was a sad day when we lost him.