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bookswithlydscl 's review for:
Scenes From A Tragedy
by Carole Hailey
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25-4.5* overall
2 pilots are killed in a plane crash, we know immediately who caused the crash but not the why and the drive to uncover that truth sits at the heart of this story. To uncover the real story journalist Carly Atherton, (who's ex, Luke, was the other pilot) has to dig into the past of pilot Danny Taylor to figure out what caused him to fly the plane into the side of a mountain.
Along the way she meets Danny's narcissistic sister, Izzy and his wife, Grace and has to read between the lines to work out what the real truth of their family situation was all whilst being consistently beguiled by the charismatic and utterly unreliable Izzy.
Everything in this story keeps coming back to Izzy and I struggled so much with her character. It takes a lot for me to enjoy a book when a major character is utterly unlikeable but Carole Hailey has managed it with this one. The truth as it comes out explains so much why she is such a focal point and makes it all worthwhile but I really did struggle along the way. What helped a lot was the break in perspectives when we heard from Grace, from Carly herself and the journal articles which make up Carly's research work on ghost flights.
What also helped was the fantastic narration from the audiobook narrators. I felt that Eilidh Beaton; Louise Amos; Amy Noble did an amazing job with the shared narration. They were all completely distinctive and brought each different aspect of the book to life. The production quality is superb - high quality, clear, well edited and produced. I definitely felt that the aspects that bothered me most (namely Izzy's story) were mitigated by how well her perspective was brought to life in audio form.
Overall this is a fantastic, slow thriller that's highly character driven with a compelling story and structure. I loved the book within a book aspect with the interspersed journal articles and the switching narrative perspectives. It felt modern, fresh and was absolutely intriguing though felt a tad too long for me at points in the middle.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books | Corvus Books for a digital review copy of "Scenes From a Tragedy" and W.F. Howes Ltd for a review copy of the Audiobook, both in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
2 pilots are killed in a plane crash, we know immediately who caused the crash but not the why and the drive to uncover that truth sits at the heart of this story. To uncover the real story journalist Carly Atherton, (who's ex, Luke, was the other pilot) has to dig into the past of pilot Danny Taylor to figure out what caused him to fly the plane into the side of a mountain.
Along the way she meets Danny's narcissistic sister, Izzy and his wife, Grace and has to read between the lines to work out what the real truth of their family situation was all whilst being consistently beguiled by the charismatic and utterly unreliable Izzy.
Everything in this story keeps coming back to Izzy and I struggled so much with her character. It takes a lot for me to enjoy a book when a major character is utterly unlikeable but Carole Hailey has managed it with this one. The truth as it comes out explains so much why she is such a focal point and makes it all worthwhile but I really did struggle along the way. What helped a lot was the break in perspectives when we heard from Grace, from Carly herself and the journal articles which make up Carly's research work on ghost flights.
What also helped was the fantastic narration from the audiobook narrators. I felt that Eilidh Beaton; Louise Amos; Amy Noble did an amazing job with the shared narration. They were all completely distinctive and brought each different aspect of the book to life. The production quality is superb - high quality, clear, well edited and produced. I definitely felt that the aspects that bothered me most (namely Izzy's story) were mitigated by how well her perspective was brought to life in audio form.
Overall this is a fantastic, slow thriller that's highly character driven with a compelling story and structure. I loved the book within a book aspect with the interspersed journal articles and the switching narrative perspectives. It felt modern, fresh and was absolutely intriguing though felt a tad too long for me at points in the middle.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books | Corvus Books for a digital review copy of "Scenes From a Tragedy" and W.F. Howes Ltd for a review copy of the Audiobook, both in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.