Tangerine: A Novel

Definitely Hitchcockian, exotic, with an ending I didn't expect. It easily could have been written in the 1950s, the decade in which it is set, except it was written in this decade--this writer really captures the elegant writing style of an era decades before she was born. Hard to do, but Mangan is successful at it. By the way, why do several reviewers who are critical of this book all spell Joyce Carol Oates's name incorrectly?

One main reason I purchased this book is because Joyce Carol Oates raved about it. I don't understand the endorsement. Consider this a mixed review. The writing is quite good, as is the setting. Both kept me turning pages even though there is a slim plot. My first issue with the book, aside from the implausible story, is that the two narrators sound exactly the same. At times, I thought that was where the book was going and that the twist was going to be a dual personality. But no. This noir story was a riff on the Talented Mr. Ripley. It's dark and there are no good guys. Although deeply flawed, I do think this is a better beach read than most of the junk that's out there. Sorry if this is a confusing review, but as I said, it's a mix.

I enjoyed reading this book and lost some sleep over it. But, the author spun a web that left no room for good to triumph. I also found the ending abrupt. I'm sorry it ended that way. It would have received more stars.

I loved this book and especially the exotic setting for a murder. Would make an incredible movie. Definitely recommend if you like mysterious women living in torridly hot environments who get miffed if their BFF deceives.

This is a gripping story well told. I could hardly put it down. There are so many twists and turns to the story it keeps you hooked to the very end. I will be recommending it to my book club because I think it will generate a good discussion of the setting, the characters, and the choices they make. I do not want to say more about the plot.

What most drew me to Mangan’s novel, amid all the buzz about its being the psychological thriller of the year as well as an exploration of its concerns worthy of Graham Greene or Patricia Highsmith or perhaps even Robert Stone, was the strong narrative voice and superb writing, reminiscent on both counts of such stellar instances of the genre as Louise Doughty’s “Apple Tree Yard”, Ellen Feldman’s “The Unwitting” and Vendela Vida’s “The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty.” And indeed the voice and writing are such that I’d nominate Mangan’s novel as a model to be aspired to in any creative writing course in the land. On other counts I’m less enthusiastic, though, mostly for how the novel to my mind diffuses itself in trying to be three things at once -- a character study of two young college women in which one is dominated by the other, an expat drama in which Tangier, with an ever-increasing sense of menace, is as much a character as the two women or a psychological thriller slowly working its way toward a revelatory finale where the levers required to pull it off may have some readers scratching their heads. To be fair, though, a certain amount of what critics of the genre would call gimmickry is perhaps endemic to the genre, even in so accomplished an instance of the genre as “Apple Tree Yard,” where the movie version, absent the novel's good writing, made manifest some of my issues with the novel -- most pointedly for me, what exactly it was about her lover that so attracted the main character in the first place and why other than just to create reader suspense the prosecutor in the climactic court scene would have stretched out so long asking if the main character was familiar with Apple Tree Yard. It certainly made for a strong prologue, enough so that the prologue was apparently what sold the novel, but in a real courtroom you have to wonder if the prosecutor wouldn’t simply have moved things along.
That’s lot of detail about “Apple Tree Yard,” admittedly, and its movie version, in a review of “Tangerine,” but of the works I’ve cited, “Apple” seems to me perhaps closest in technique and intent to what Mangan had in mind -- as well as good company indeed for a debut novelist. And with word of a movie version of “Tangerine” being in the works, it will be interesting to see how well that novel transfers to the screen -- and how exactly its final revelation will be handled in that medium. At any rate, Mangan’s novel, with its superb writing, is well worth the time spent reading it, and it will be interesting to see what this writer comes up with next.

Tangerine by Christine Mangan is a recommended historical fiction suspense novel set in Tangier, Morocco, in 1956.

Alice Shipley has moved to Tangier with her new husband, John McAllister, for his job. McAllister is an obnoxious, disagreeable man who married Alice for her money. He loves Tangier and is always off doing something in the city, while Alice finds the city terrible and oppressive. She is not adjusting to life there at all. However, the last person she expected to show up in Tangier for a visit was Lucy Mason, whom she hasn't spoken to for over a year.

Alice and Lucy first met when they were freshman at Bennington in the early 1950s. The roommates became inseparable and were the best of friends - until an unnamed accident happened and the two did not part on good terms. Now, Lucy has traveled to Tangier specifically to see Alice. Alice is surprised to see her after whatever mysterious incident happened between the two. What is clear is that Lucy closely watches everything and always has, and that she is obsessed with Alice. The setting adds to the oppressive feeling, as Alice struggles with the heat and foreignness of Tangier.

The writing is wonderfully descriptive. The setting is meticulously detailed, creating an atmospheric setting. The story develops in chapters that alternate between the the two women's point of view, and describe events in the present and the past. It is the unnamed, mysterious accident/incident that happened between the two while they were in college, combined with Lucy's obsession with Alice that creates the feeling of tension. There is an almost Hitchcockian aura surrounding the plot and dialogue.

As I was reading Tangerine a feeling persisted that I had read this novel before, or had seen this film before - only the elusive-unnamed-original was better than this novel. The trouble is that the tension and drama is based on the big secret, which is so slow to be revealed that it actually offers no huge surprise. Astute readers will likely have felt the same as I did from the beginning and have an excellent idea where the plot is going long before it meanders that direction. Additionally, even though the two women are described as being very different, sometimes it is hard to tell whose voice you are reading, which is disconcerting. What I do think is true is that this book will make a good movie - which is probably why the film rights have already been sold.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

This is a tangled tale of destruction. I felt intrigued by the character development and the building suspense. I suppose it had to end as it did so L don't think I should be disappointed. I would certainly read more novels by Christine Mangan.

The cover holds more allure than the characters in the novel. I expected more description of an area I have never traveled to... I also thought more of a Hitchcock like plot from reviews. Dissapointed....

I love Patricia Highsmith and Hitchcock so this book seemed to be something I would really like. Unfortunately I found a couple flaws in the book that really ruined it for me. First, and of least importance, who was the man with the scar, why was he following her, and why did he not want to go to the police. None of this is explained or else I really missed something. Second, and more important, it would have been a simple matter for Alice to have the police show Joseph two photographs and ask him which was Alice. But no. That would have been too simple. Instead everything is jumbled up and lives are ruined when a simple photograph line-up would have wiped away some 40 more pages of angst.

I simply adored this books it is so atmospheric, set against the bright, colorful backdrop of Morocco, which works beautifully in contrast with the building psychological no war.

It’s a great novel for those who enjoy a good literary, psychological thriller.

Yet another example of an over-hyped book getting entirely too much attention. Joyce Carol Oats must owe someone a favor. Patricia Highsmith was an incredibly talented writer. Her first published novel, Strangers on a Train surpasses this misogynistic, vaguely homophobic mess in every possible way. Highsmith would have been appalled at the comparison, I'm sure.

Tangerine lacks any traces of emotional or psychological depth. Its lazily racist views of Africa are colonial and superficial. It is as if the writer watched a couple of old movies about "foreign" countries and then decided to place her characters there. Nothing about the setting, actions, thoughts, or dialog of the characters rings true. This book isn't noir, it's already an old movie that isn't aging well.

Joyce Carol Oats should be ashamed, touting this garbage novel. I should be ashamed I even bought it. Swoony writing with awkward grammar and big sighs about the secrets that can't be revealed. I got halfway through and tossed it.

I hate stories that go from person to person then back to another person.It is to confusing .tell a story from start to finish, not involving so many back and forths. I hate back and forth stories. Stick to a plot, not be back and forth. I wonder who the hell is who in the story, hate being confused...

I ordered the book based on early reviews. I found it unreadable. Every sentence uses the rhetorical device of repeating ideas at least three times for emphasis using slightly different figurative language. If there is a good plot, I never got that far. This book desperately needed a good editor to rein in the author.

It's hard to account for the strong reviews this book received but the first chapter is so crammed with clunky writing and the stalest cliches (Tangier is a "fevered dream" etc) that it's hard to continue.

Alice Shipley was shocked when her college roommate, Lucy Mason, arrived in Morocco. The two haven't spoken in over a year, but maybe becoming close with Lucy again is just what Alice needs to get back on track. She hasn't adjusted well to life in the city of Tangier and her marriage to John isn't exactly picture perfect. But the more time the two women spend together, Alice feels like Lucy is controlling. It's the same problem she had with Lucy in college. When Alice's husband, John, goes missing, Alice can't help but questioning everything including her own sanity.

This book held my interest enough that I ended up reading it in one day. What I thought the book did really well was switching back and forth between the women's perspectives and also slowly revealing what happened in college. And I loved Morocco as a backdrop for the action. The only problem was this book had such a The Talented Mr. Ripley vibe to it that it just didn't feel all that unique. With that said though, the characters in Tangerine are intriguing enough that I couldn't help but be entertained.

I won a free download of this book from HarperCollins but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.

From the publisher: It’s about Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason, at one time the closest of friends, now wedged apart by a chilling secret. They find themselves reunited in Morocco in 1956, where revolution is imminent, though it seems like the real warfare is between the two of them. The dusty alleyways of Tangier have never felt so ominous.”

First things first: “Tangerine” is what you are called if you are of, or from, Tangiers. The chapters’ p.o.v. alternates between Lucy and Alice, fittingly enough. The first belongs to Alice, musing as she looks out the window at the streets of Morocco, thinking back to her days at Bennington College, in Vermont, where she and Lucy, both 17, were best friends and roommates [having met on their very first day at college.]” And where she met John McAllister, to whom she is now married, although having decided not to change her name: “It felt important, somehow, to retain some part of myself, my family, after everything that had happened.” Trying “to not think each and every second of the day about what had happened in the cold, wintry Green Mountains of Vermont.” It is now just over a year since that time. (There are several references to “what had happened,” although the reader is not told what that “everything” was for quite a while, e.g., “It was perhaps too much to hope for, I knew, that things would simply revert back to how they had once been, before that terrible night.”)

Lucy, who is a writer of obituaries for a local newspaper, first appears in Chapter Two, as she describes the intense heat of the city, where she finds “the promise of the unknown, of something infinitely deeper, richer, than anything I had ever experienced in the cold streets of New York.” She has come to Tangiers for the express purpose of finding and joining Alice. Born in a small town in Vermont, Tangiers is literally another world for her. When she makes her way to Alice’s apartment, she finds it cluttered with books, by Dickens and others of that ilk, which is surprising to Lucy, as the Alice she had known was “not a big reader. I had tried to encourage her during our four years as roommaes, but try as I might to interest her, she had only stuck up her nose. They’re all just so serious, she had complained . . . she was made, it seemed, for living, rather than reading about the experiences of other lives.” When Lucy re-enters her life, Alice is delighted to see her “once friend, the closest friend that I had even known before it had all gone wrong.” The tale goes along this way, with fascinating insights into the two women, and into this stifling city, and its people and places, so completely foreign to everything they have known till then. The writing is fascinating, and the mystery, when it is finally made clear to the reader, well worth the time it took to get us there.

Recommended.

{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
Dual Narration – Alternating narrators is one of my favorite literary devices and debut author Christine Mangan used it beautifully, creating an aura of mystery and a sense of doubt that kept me guessing. In the book’s epilogue, Alice begins telling her story from a hospital in Spain. She’s recalling a woman she both wants to remember and forget. That woman is Lucy who arrives on Alice’s doorstep in Tangier completely unannounced. Her arrival is as welcome as it is unwelcome, for these two women share a dark history that both are hinting at.

“And so there were days when I never wanted to part from her, when I felt that my whole being depended upon my close connection with her. And there were days when I hated her, resenting myself, resenting her for this reliance, this symbiotic relationship that we had formed – though on the darkest days I wondered whether it really was, whether there was anything that I had to offer her, and whether what she offered me wasn’t more a crutch than a benefit.“

As they move through their days and nights in Tangier, the mystery of what happened during their senior year of college is slowly revealed…from both perspectives. Neither narrator is particularly reliable. Alice, confused, timid, and vulnerable sees the world through the fog of her own mind; Lucy sees it only as she wants it to be, willing to get there by any means possible.

Growing Darkness – As you might have already guessed, Lucy is one dark woman. Initially, I found myself drawn to her gumption and fearlessness. She was willing to spend every last penny she had and travel halfway around the world to go after what she wanted. She wasn’t put off by being alone in a strange land or by John, Alice’s husband, who clearly wanted her gone. As Tangerine progressed, more and more of Lucy emerged. She was oh so good at putting herself first, no matter the collateral damage.

Secrets – Tangerine revolves around two big secrets. The first is glimpsed in that epilogue where we meet Alice in the hospital. Questions immediately arise. Why is she there? What happened in Tangier? Where is her husband? What role did Lucy play? Each chapter of the book takes you closer and closer to understanding. From the start, Alice and Lucy both allude to the second secret: tragedy at Bennington College. When it finally became clear I found myself questioning the sanity of both women.

What Didn’t
Central Casting – The primary characters in Tangerine, Alice, Lucy and John, all felt like they were straight out of central casting. Each was a type, a very usual type. Not one of them ever varied from that type. I wish there had been more of a surprise element in how their individual stories were resolved. It would have been nice to see something a little different, rather than well-established, pat characters. I think it will be very interesting to see what Hollywood does with Mangan’s characters.

Slow and Languid – Alice’s narration in particular fell on the slow side and I found myself drifting a bit in her parts.

{The Final Assessment}
Tangerine is the latest of several noir style books that have come out this year, and for me it ranks about the same as the rest, not a knockout, but very good. The trip to Tangier in 1956 was fun and the story easy to read. I was always eager to get back to the story and find out what had happened to Alice and how she ended up in that Spanish hospital. Had the characters been a little less expected, a little more memorable, it easily would have risen higher in my esteem. Grade: B

You need to be a fan of psychological thrillers to enjoy reading Tangerine. I need to be rooting for at least one of the characters, so I chose Alice, the fragile victim, and read on with a sense of doom. What’s to like about doom? The writing was acceptable, but a crucial turning point in the plot, Lucy’s tampering with the brakes, at a moment’s notice in a blizzard, is not credible.

Where to begin. This book is such a blatant rip off starting with The Amazing Mr. Ripley. However these characters are so poorly drawn, I was hard pressed to finish the book. You have the cold husband, the cold aunt, the vulnerable heiress, the striving character from the wrong side of the tracks, the dishonest Morroccan. Yes it is Tangiers and not Italy. Save your money.

I was super-excited to read this story. The title, the evocative cover... the synopsis of the plot, all made the story sound wonderful. However, after listening to the first 15 minutes of the audiobook, I thought the story was moving painfully slow and I didn't particularly care for the main character, Alice's POV. I almost stopped listening there. But the the title, the cover, the buzz... surely, I thought, this has to be a great story. The fact that George Clooney's film production company purchased the film rights with Scarlett Johansen to star compelled me to keep listening. And so I did.

I was finally intrigued when the character of Lucy was introduced. She was interesting. Her POV was intriguing. But alas, the story itself is just Single White Female... in Morocco. And the ending is not satisfying. Note I didn't say I was expecting a HEA, but I did want an ending that was exciting or compelling. Or fair. Unfortunately, I mean the ending left me thinking, why did I listen to this story?

And note, I say "story" because it's the story that is the problem. The writing is exquisite, strong, polished. But the story is... meh. My first assessment of the story in the first 15 minutes was the correct assessment for me.

About three-quarters through the story, I thought there was going to be a big twist, a "I see dead people" type surprise that would shake up how the story had been perceived (no, I don't actually mean ghosts) but the story is exactly as it seems. Straightforward. And so, it ends up being boring and predictable. There are moments of suspense, but eh... And painful. I wanted relief from Lucy's gas lighting of Alice, it's REALLY painful to read at times. But Alice is so weak, her grasp on reality so shaky... It just doesn't happen. The author doesn't make that choice.

And so, I did not enjoy this story and cannot recommend it.

Thank you so much to Ecco Books for providing my free copy of TANGERINE by Christine Mangan - all opinions are my own.

This is a stunning psychological suspense debut that reminds me so much of Patricia Highsmith who I LOVE! And for full transparency I should disclose that I am a categorical fan of the psychological thriller genre, and TANGERINE is one of my new top favorites! Gorgeous, mysterious prose that you can just sink your teeth into.

The story is set in the 1950’s and centers on a friendship between Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason. Alice moves to Tangier, Morocco with her new husband, and Lucy, an old college roommate, just shows up one day uninvited. As it becomes apparent that Lucy has no plans to leave, tension rises. What happened in the past that made her come to Tangier?

The novel is divided up into three parts and the chapters alternate between Alice and Lucy. The descriptive language and imagery give a full color visual of the setting and the character development is superb. I absolutely love Mangan’s writing style and as we delve into the women’s past, I enjoyed slowly peeling back the layers of this story. With a devious, chilling, and murderous plot, I thoroughly devoured this book in one sitting! And can we just take a moment to appreciate this BEAUTIFUL cover?!! It’s breathtaking!

This is an inside look at a toxic female relationship. The girls meet in college as Lucy and Alice are paired as roommates. They come from a similar background- both lost their parents when they were young and have had to fight to get where they are. Quickly, they come to rely on one another, but soon the relationship becomes unbalanced. Alice has her own interests and tries to break away from her enigmatic roommate, but when she does things start to unravel. She thinks.

Alice is an unreliable narrator throughout and you almost always questioned her perception of what was going on versus what was actually going on. Lucy is a feminist and I loved reading about the roles that were expected of women during this time and what happens when a women doesn't play into it. I got sucked into their relationship- the jealousy, the posturing, the competition, the closeness. It was cloying and I loved hearing the narrative from both sides. It felt luxurious to read this and Tangier served as such a rich background- although, having never been there, I can't speak to the authenticity. Tangier is Christine Mangan's first novel, but she has a PhD in English and a MFA and her writing made this storyline work. The publishers compare her to Donna Tartt and I can definitely see the similarities. High praise!

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and would recommend. It's a slow-burn with an atypical setting, time period, and characters. It has a familiar unreliable narrator - but because you hear from both sides you're in on the scam.

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Barrie Kreinik and Erin Mallon. The funny thing is that I thought it was the same person voicing both Alice and Lucy. But, I noticed when the audiobook has started only Barrie Kreinik is listed as a narrator. So, no wonder I thought that it was one person. It didn't help that they voiced was very similar, only with Alice voice being softer. Anyway, that's beside the point, the narrators did a good job with this book. Part of the charm of this book was how easy the book was to listen to.

Nevertheless, I found myself having trouble connecting with the characters. I didn't think they were fleshed out enough to make me care for them. Sure, we get background events on both Alice and Lucy, but I found myself thinking after I finished the book that I couldn't see them before my eyes while I listened to the book. Frankly, all the characters felt a bit flat to me. The same thing could I say about Tangier. Because of the lack of connection with the characters and not feeling the atmosphere of Tangier couldn't I completely be engrossed in the story.

However, there was something about the story that made me continue listening, a need to know what really happened when Alice and Lucy went to school and what would happen next. I may not be totally engrossed in the story, but I was curious to know more all the way through the book. I can't say that the book surprised me, but the last part, when you realize where everything is going is quite good.

Tangerine is a so-so so book. I kind of liked the book, but I never really found myself completely enjoying the book. Perhaps if the characters had been more fleshed out and if the city had been better described in a way that I have felt transported to it had the book worked better.

(I almost never write a negative review, but I feel I have to help counter the good press this one has received so other readers won't waste their money! If you feel you have to read it, borrow it from a library.) Plenty of other reviewers have posted examples of the hack writing style - just click on some other low-star reviews if you want to read them. Reading this was so painful I kept skimming to find what the reviews were raving about, but I never saw it. It's a ridiculous plot that recycles stuff you've read many times before. Terrible dialogue, hack descriptions. The only thing that kept me reading was curiosity because of the good reviews! I can't explain them. I hated this book. I'll stop now.

Largely thanks to Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl," books about weird, mentally ill women and unreliable narrators are de rigueur. But, unlike Flynn's thrilling novel, "Tangerine" is the pits. True, it was intriguing at first, but, ever so slowly, I became increasingly impatient. On and on the story dragged, and I cared less and less about the two leading characters. I didn't even care about the "mystery." Having an MFA is no guarantee of a skilled writer. In fact, many authors with MFAs simply try too hard...and fail. Yes, George Clooney optioned the book for a movie starring Scarlett Johannson, but that doesn't make "Tangerine" worth reading. If it ever gets produced, the movie will almost certainly be better.
Oh, before I forget, yes, I liked the cover. It's a 1953 photo of the beautiful model Suzy Parker in Morocco. Proof that you can't judge a book by its cover.

I'm relieved to read these reviews because I really thought I was losing my mind. Although I enjoyed the setting, the story itself seemed almost totally crazy. The characters were unlikable and the plot, all over the place. I started to become interested for several pages in the middle of the book but by then, I was scratching my head and flipping back and forth thinking I must have missed something. I did finish the book but it left me with the feeling that I had wasted my time.

I am a sucker for literature in an exotic setting. Also, when it is a thriller that is set in a location so removed. That was the case with “Tangerine”. It is racy, sparse and written the way a noir novel should be – atmospheric, dark and gritty to the bone. Having said that, there are also portions in the book that seem to drag and not go anywhere, but the prose is just as brilliant.

“Tangerine” is a story about Alice Shipley, who has moved to Tangier with her new husband John. Enter, her once upon a time close friend and roommate Lucy Mason who she least expected to see there, given the circumstances in which the fallout occurred. Things but of course go haywire with Lucy’s presence. She is as usual controlling. Alice sees herself dependent on her a lot more. One fine day John suddenly disappears and Alice finds herself questioning everything and everyone around her.

This is the plot of the book. Sure there is more, but I am not going to give any spoilers. The writing has its moments of brilliance and then sometimes you think it isn’t going anywhere, but it redeems itself right back. Mangan creates and builds on an entirely new Tangier in tandem with where the story is set. It is that of the mind – place is again of great importance in Alice’s mind and even Lucy for that matter, which shines through the book.

“Tangirine” when I started reading it felt like just another book that I had read in the past. Thakfully, it wasn’t that. You need to give it a chance past fifty pages for sure for the book to grow on you. It is the kind of book that builds on everything rather slowly, but once it does, it sure does make an impression and stays.

A review on the cover of the book compares this to Hitchcock and boy, they were right. We are taken on a journey of a friendship in the 1950s between Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason. Alice has lost her parents (she may have been responsible but we don't really ever know), and Lucy claims to have also lost her parents but we learn there is more to Lucy than meets the eye. They are college roommates and Alice finds a good friend in Lucy, or so she thinks. They are inseparable, very close, but red flags with Lucy start to appear, and Alice perhaps chooses to ignore them until it is too late.

This book was creepy, and just got worse. Lucy was the strong, independent person Alice wanted to be, and Alice was a companion Lucy never had. On the surface, you could see how this friendship might work, but it was not healthy to say the least. So many times it would be infuriating when Alice could not finish her sentences because others just talked over her as if she was not even there. You wanted to root for her to stand up to them, and she tried, but ugh. Lucy is one heck of a villain, and you never learn too much about how she gets to be the way she is, but maybe that doesn't matter. As Alice says, she gave everything to Lucy but got nothing in return. We as the reader get the same, maybe we do get some of Lucy's perspective, but this only succeeded in making me even more frustrated with Alice.

The story is set in Morocco, and I enjoyed this almost as much as the storyline. Mangan is very descriptive of the location, the locals, the food / drinks, it really made me want to go there, even though it was sweltering at that time. Although Alice did not want to venture out much, her husband was in love with Tanger, and Mangan helped me to understand why.

This book is horrible. The highly unlikely plot is bad enough, but the writing is like a parody of itself: redundant, overwrought, clunky, and did I say redundant? It reads like the work of an early writing student who decides to write a novel and not let anyone edit a word of it; it could’ve been a third as long and (better) conveyed the same thing. I bought it bc we were visiting Tangier and I had seen it reviewed somewhere. I brought just a few books along, figuring even if I didn’t love this one, it would be informative about the place. But it was such torture to read that I had to stop halfway through, and when I think of the better books I could’ve read in that time, I want to cry. I can’t believe this is what (some) people consider good writing these days. And to compare this author to Patricia Highsmith or Donna Tartt or Gillian Flynn is pure sin. Joyce Carol Oates must’ve been high when she wrote that blurb.

This is a great, beautifully woven novel: it's a gothic about women's relations, about femininity, about Tangier. It's unforgettable (for this male reader) - the stuff of dreams and afterthought. It is atmospheric, smoky, well-plotted and, best of all, brilliantly written, sentence by sentence worth savoring - I found myself slowing down to make sure each sentence, image, thought from these highly undependable narrators sunk in. There's none of this kitch movie, racing along narrative stuff that seems to win the best seller lists and appeal to the mini-series mind. Christine Mangan has a way with words that makes for diaphanous, ephemeral characterizations and meanings that seem to drift away like haze and mist, only for another scene and another set of images, smells, light and feeling to appear- always as if they were always meant to be there. Her sense of place - whether it's wintery Vermont or the Tangier waterfront - is astute, sensitive. Her eye for detail is a wonder. The depth of her female characters is rich and always leaves you with the impression there's yet more to plumb. Manganese's has the potential to become a new Ferrante - I wish her luck, look forward to reading her next work, imagine that Hollywood will talk Scarlett into the key role of this, and hope she avoids the dreaded '2nd novel after the MFA brilliant first novel' slump.

This is a familiar story but it's well done and I loved the setting- 1950s Morocco! Mangan's ability to evoke Tangiers ups the ante for this tale of two women who are inextricably linked. Told in alternating voices, Alice and Lucy have a back story. Boy do they have a back story but you'll wait to find out what really happened at Bennington where they were best friends. Now Alice, always shy, is retreating further into her shell even as her husband John, who isn't a good guy, really, expands out into the world. AND then, John disappears. Why? The relationship between Alice and Lucy is what's important here. This made for a good read largely because of the terrific sense of place. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. This is a good one for travel or the beach.

Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason were once college roommates in Bennington, Vermont, but after an incident there, the two parted ways. Now Alice is married and living in Morocco, her marriage and life in general is anything but, blissful. She is uncomfortable in her new surroundings. One day Lucy Mason, the fearless, gutsy friend from her past, arrives in Tangiers unannounced. However, the visit, unbeknownst to Alice, is anything but altruistic.

Set in 1956, this tension filled psychological thriller reminded me in some ways of the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley. The character development and setting was excellent and I enjoyed how the story played out even though certain aspects seemed a bit contrived.

Rating - 4.5/5

I just read an interview with Kate Atkinson where she said she did not enjoy "Women-in-Jeopardy" books--I agree with her! And this book is one of those. There are many books in this genre, many of them best sellers, so it makes me wonder what is the appeal and what am I missing?
That said, this book has the flavor of Morocco. But the book is as oppressive as the heat, full of unanswered questions, underdeveloped characters, obsessions, depressions, deceit and murder. I did not meet anyone in this novel that had any redeeming qualities. I trudged through this book just to see Lucy get her come-uppance. Did I mention that the book had a lousy ending?
Just not my cup of tea.

As a lover of a good mystery I was expecting more. The story is an old one, told countless times, “single white female”, “talented Mr Ripley”, “the woman on the train” style. I rented the audiobook from the library and listened to it on my way to and from spring break. In the book and the audiobook version the voices of the two leading females were similar enough that a mild distraction would require re-reading. The beginning was gripping and clever enough to grasp my attention. The description of the characters and the setting drew me in. But as the story continued the narrative remained too slow. The sentences are long. Pauses devide the same idea said many different ways. Even at the climax a conversation between characters was way too long. The shadows were re-described or we were reminded of one of the characters state of mind. I am sorry to say I didn’t finish it, no longer interested if someone was going to die, go to jail, get away with it or not. I will read another Mangan book, however. Second time’s a charm?

What a twisted story of obsession, jealousy and murder. Lucy and Alice meet in college and become best friends. They both are damaged and there is plenty wrong with both of them, but there is a pot for every lid so they start depending on each other. Then Lucy starts getting a little too possessive and an tragic incident breaks them apart, possibly forever. Fast-forward in time, Alice is living in Tangiers with her husband. She is still pretty messed up, but is coping. When Lucy shows up at her doorstep, Alice’s carefully set-up life starts to crumble. The story moves between the past and the present. Both characters are very well drawn, even if the men in their lives are a little less developed. As much as it makes Tangiers feel like a terrible place, it also makes it look so good that I wanted to book a tour immediately. If only I could also travel back in time to when men wore fedoras! Reading this novel is like watching a remake of Single White Female set in Bogie’s Casablanca. I’m not surprised it’s going to be a movie. This is a gripping read.
I won this book through a Bookperks giveaway, but all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

Early reviews have compared debut novelist Christine Mangan to masters of the psychological thriller, such as Alfred Hitchcock, Daphne du Maurier, and that most sought-after analogy, Gillian Flynn. They’re not completely wrong. TANGERINE, set in the steamy Moroccan city of Tangier on the eve of its independence from France, has mystery, betrayal, psychological war games, and, of course, a parade of characters whose motives are both conflicted and often obscured, even from themselves.

The story opens at an asylum in Spain where a woman is trying to compose her thoughts, hampered by the fog that clouds them. She is troubled and paranoid, remembering her past in Tangier with both nostalgia and distaste. Then we are back in time, in Tangier, where Alice Shipley lives with her husband, John. He goes to work each day, but mostly lives off his wife’s trust fund. Increasingly, their lives are separate, as Alice struggles with her dislike of the city that has kept her captive in her peaceful apartment. Slowly the reader learns that a trauma the previous year has left her with feelings of anxiety and depression, and that perhaps her marriage to John and move to Morocco were a failed attempt to escape them.

Enter Lucy, Alice’s college roommate and onetime best friend. Whatever happened the previous year implicates her, but why is not clear until the denouement. Lucy is a complex character who, in Alice’s mind, is “the most beautiful woman I ever met.” An orphan, she went to Bennington on a scholarship and arrived in Tangier having saved her salary from the job she got after graduation. Why she is there is not entirely clear.

As soon as Lucy meets John, the two are wary of each other’s intentions. Nevertheless, John suggests she move into their flat, and she accepts. The rest of the novel, alternating between the perspectives of Lucy and Alice, depicts the dance among the three --- and the willful misinformation that each conveys to the other. Is John a protective husband and a hardworking agent of a British company, as he suggests? Is Alice a devoted wife whose past tragedies are behind her? And is Lucy visiting her friend in order to revive their earlier friendship that dissolved because of a misunderstanding?

Mangan is not afraid of giving her characters plenty of room to explore their motivations and, just as important, the perceived motivations of those around them. At times, the heated analysis can veer into melodrama --- the cinematic possibilities are clearly on display here --- but there is still plenty of fast-paced action. Where it all leads is presaged at the beginning, so part of the enjoyment is watching how it unfolds. Though a little clunky at times, Mangan writes so well that readers will overlook any misplaced red herrings in an effort to find out how she pulls offthe final scenes.

TANGERINE --- the name given to those expats who fall in love with the city --- is a delicious, if overwrought, blend of psychological thriller, travelogue and whodunit that is likely to find a big audience, first of readers and then of moviegoers.

Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley

This very-hyped book is a quick read that may disappoint you if you expect a more complex plot. The cover blurb--by Joyce Carol Oates, no less--compares the novel to: Donna Tartt -- only in the sense of a New England college being one setting--the writing isn't at Tartt's level;Gillian Flynn--not really, b/c the plot is simpler than one of her books (which, for me, was a relief); Patricia Highsmith--similar because of an exotic, seaside setting and homosexual obsession, but Highsmith is a far more sophisticated writer; and Hitchcock? - shades of Gaslight

And yet...I enjoyed the book.

The alternating voices of Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason caught me up right away, their two different views of reality. Initially, it seemed both were protagonists and the shady Mosquito and shifty John the antagonists. But in "Tangerine," things are not what they seem and the compelling, unfolding mystery pulls you through the book.

Christine Mangan has done a masterful job here engaging her reader into the essence of Lucy's and Alice's respective psychoses. It isn't until late in the book that the truth is revealed. And even then, you're not 100% certain.

This one will keep you guessing. Despite the orderly way in which the chapters are presented, through the alternating voices of the two lead characters, the story meanders a bit. The writing is a little over the top, but is well suited to the scenario presented by the author... echos of a past time, a different, more formal way of life, and a foreign culture that resonates throughout the story with a pulse of its own. Ultimately, denied expectations and desperate hopes contrast with a very stark reality. The ending is apparently what the reader has been led to expect... or is it? The aunt is more of a character force than she initially appears but the reader is left to conjecture just exactly what she was able (or willing) to orchestrate. Stay with it. It's fun to wonder along the way exactly where it is going , even if at the end, you may still be asking.

Once again hype has let me down. I don't understand why publishers are so willing to spend their silver bullets on average or below average books, which this one definitely is. Patricia Highsmith? Not a bit!!! Not an awful book, just characters I resent having spent time with and a plot that isn't anything special. Nothing here but a terrific cover and promo.

Picked this up at the library.
Plot seems to be very reminiscent of The Talented Mr. Ripley. I would call this an atmospheric “suspense” novel. A lot doesn’t actually happen, but instead there is a lot of narrative that forebodes...breathlessly...endlessly. That’s both good and not so good. If you’re an armchair traveler, then you’ll enjoy the lengthy descriptions of Tangiers...the heat, the sun, the hot mint tea, the 1950s...

I can honestly say there’s not a single character I could root for. None of them are appealing...LOL. SERIOUSLY. Alice was not someone I felt any kind of affection for nor had any true interest in seeing “succeed”. Ditto Lucy...Ditto John...Aunt Maude...Sabine...Josef...I won’t spoil the ending for you. But I doubt readers will be surprised at how the book ends.

I have mixed feelings about this book...I found the first half of the book to be a bit slow. For me, there was almost too much detail and imagery of Tangier and I found myself getting impatient and wanting more details of the plot and the characters. I thought the author did a great job with character development for the two main characters- Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason. Alice is a fragile young woman with a tragic past who struggles with anxiety. Lucy (her former college roommate) is obsessed with Alice and will do anything to be with her. I felt terrible for Alice because she really didn't have any one truly on her side. At the same time, I despised Lucy and questioned why Alice ever let her in the apartment when she showed up unannounced in Tangier. The story really started to develop (and live up to its label as a psychological thriller) about halfway through the book - after the disappearance of Alice's husband, events unfolded rather quickly. I was provided with an ARC by the publisher via BookShout.

Tangerine is a well-paced, psychological thriller set in Tangier, Morocco that is told from two different perspectives. Alice, a wealthy, fragile, young woman with a history of tragedy and a husband and new home she’s not entirely comfortable or content with. And Lucy, a dangerous, manipulative young lady who seems to lack a conscience and be driven by an unhealthy, violent obsession.

The writing is taut and vividly descriptive. The characters are complex, flawed, and highly unstable. And the plot, using alternating chapters, does a superb job of building tension and unease as it subtly unravels and intertwines an intricate web of lies, secrets, pretense, desperation, infatuation, violence, and murder.

Overall, Tangerine is a fantastic debut for Mangan that transports you to another time and place and reminds you that some friendships are not only toxic but often deadly.

I found this book fascinating! Exotic location, a fancy girls school and 2 characters, both unbalanced. I read it late into the night because I wanted to know how Alice was going to survive Lucy. There are evil people in this world. It’s definitely a movie! Yes, some of the writing was heavy-handed, but it was still a page turner! Why do some women fall into traps of lies? The strong lesbian overtones added tension to the book.

I liked the author’s descriptions of Morocco, but thought the plot was implausible. How can a person get away with so many crimes? The author used repetitious phrases and I found it really odd that the characters called each other by name constantly in every conversation. I was completely upset with the ending-I felt like I wasted the whole time reading it. I was also wondering why it wasn’t said what John’s job was and who the man was that came to Alice’s door and also followed her? I may have missed exactly why Aunt Maude did what she did? I didn’t get that at all. Or why Yousef was not asked to indenify the woman who conspired with him? I can not recommend this book.

I was excited for this book to come out — compared to Highsmith, Hitchcock, etc, all favorites of mine. But when I was reading it, it was basically just The Talented Mr. Ripley but with women instead of men. There was a bit of good tension at the beginning, with the “is this one crazy or is the other one evil?”, but once that is pretty well resolved, it’s hard to stay invested and keep reading. It’s well written and has a great, exotic location, but it just stalls once it runs out of twists to reveal, and this happens to early for me.

Almost a good book. It was ruined for me when the protagonist, an intelligent woman, on three or four occasions failed to say the obvious thing that would have gotten her out of trouble. To avoid spoilers I won't list them but you certainly won't miss them.

Listened to this book and hated it. The two voices barely distinguishable despite one with supposedly ‘an accent’ but it was the plot that destroyed all for me. SPOILER ALERT: While this is a thriller set over time, the epilogue reveals that crime can pay. I read fiction to enrich my life and to turn away from current life in our country where actions have no repercussions. This type of novel disgusts me.

A speed reader, I've been trained to finish reading a novel in six hours, a voracious reader, I've been known to fall into a story and be lost, even afterwards, for days. But there are some stories that are so well crafted that every word is gold, mined in the writer's imagination, joining my own so effortlessly that what I've read becomes part of me beyond the reading. I keep these books by my bedside where they will likely be until I die. I pray that whoever finds them reads and realizes the wealth as I have.

I've begun to read the book "Tangerine" by Christine Mangan. I had looked forward to reading all night, immersed in a good story but I find myself holding back, savoring words, rereading paragraphs, immersing myself in the language of story. I will not allow myself to read this quickly. I cannot deny myself the rare pleasure of this story. And I know, that when I do read the last words and close the book, this will be one of those books by my bedside.

Reading "Tangerine" by Christine Mangan- If you want to read about a woman trapped between two narcissists, read this book. A lot like "Gaslight" and very frightening, especially, because of the foreign setting.

Christine Mangan published her debut novel, Tangerine, on March 27, 2018. The novel alternates between the first-person perspectives of Alice and Lucy, two college roommates who haven’t seen each other in over a year, but both meet in Tangier. Both women are unreliable narrators, Alice has hallucinations and Lucy is obsessed, in an unnatural way, with Alice. This novel is a character driven thriller, where the setting is personified to act as one of the most important characters. The “character” of Tangier is beautiful while simultaneously being oppressive. It keeps the secrets of the people who live there while also keeping them confined mentally and physically. The prologue begins with an unnamed dead man being pulled out of the water and an unnamed narrator in an asylum alone and clearly delusional.
The novel is non-linear and the reader must piece together the clues given through flashbacks. This makes it a very hard book to put down. The further the reader gets in the book, the greater the desire to know becomes. There is a sense of overwhelming drama and dread in nearly every page, especially the further the reader falls into the women’s unstable minds. The imagery of Tangier is detailed enough to transport the reader there alongside the characters. Occasionally the timeline of the novel becomes hard to follow, especially because the two women are so similar. The willingness of Alice to allow Lucy back in her life so easily seems a little unbelievable, but this doubt is easy to forgive. Some sections of the novel are weighed down in repetitive imagery.
Regardless of the several faults of this novel, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a chilling thriller that is easy to read. This novel has everything a good thriller should: obsession, murder, betrayal, lying, and fear. Mangan creates a sense of anxiety from page one that carries the reader all the way to page 388. This novel creates an unwavering need in the reader to be able to piece together the pieces of not only the murder in the present, but also the need to piece together the past.

The great strength of protagonist Lucy Mason in Christine Mangan’s debut novel titled, Tangerine, is her cunning. Set mostly in Tangier in the 1950s, the novel’s descriptive prose and dialogue draws readers into the images and lifestyle of that time and place. Mangan delves into close female relationships in this novel and the skills that one can use to manipulate another. Lucy plays a long game, and Mangan unravels the story with skill as readers are lulled and surprised by the plot.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

There’s nothing like an unreliable narrator and when there are two in the same book you still won’t perceive reality at the end. For me it was frustrating. I love nice clean clear endings. But when I think about a book long after I’ve read it puzzling over what I might have missed, this book proves to be a success with me.

Lame! I mean the story was intriguing--but even that said, I found myself wondering halfway through, if this story was really bettering me as a person. It was just watered-down horror, with bad writing, naive observations, and immature characters. No wonder Hollywood wants it. That's what sells in our day. Don't bother.

I’ll agree with some other reviewers that the book was a little derivative, but still, I couldn’t put it down. The author evoked the settings perfectly. Even without researching on the internet, I have enough imagination left to have pictured both. One totally irrelevant comment I can’t help but make was how amused I was at how readily these characters bled. Somehow, I don’t think walking thru the streets of anywhere for an afternoon would leave one’s feet “cracked and bleeding”!

I've read through a lot of the other reviews here. Don't understand why so many people disliked it. I thought it was great. Creepy as all get out. Very "Daphne du Maurier"-esque. Great writing except for a couple of times when the author gets confused about what time of day it is, jumping back and forth from morning to afternoon back to morning. Needed a good final editing. But the author is clearly very talented and I look forward to her next book!

Tangier: “You cry when you arrive, and you cry when you leave”

The early reviews of this novel indicated that setting was a character in itself. The teaming and oppressive streets of Tangier in 1956 do really come to full and colourful life, and like the city, it is a story that sucks the reader in. Indeed, even Paul Bowles, a go-to author for books that conjure up Morocco of the 1950s (and who in fact features on our Pinterest Board “Top Travel Books (ever?)”, has a walk on part.

Alice and Lucy shared digs in Vermont at Bennington College. Forward a short period of time to 1956 and Alice is living with her husband John in Tangier. An unspecified accident dissolved their friendship at college and Lucy headed to New York. Both girls had lost their parents in earlier years, a fact that seemingly drew them to each other in the first instance; but over the months and ensuing years ructions occurred, culminating in one minor incident about ownership of a bracelet and an incident that was much more profound. Despite all their history, here is Lucy one day, unannounced, and on Alice’s doorstep in Tangier.

Alice is in an unhappy and emotionally undermining relationship and has become cowed, hardly leaving the apartment, whilst her husband is out gallivanting, seduced by the lure and capriciousness of the city. Alice opens the door reluctantly to Lucy, who goes on to insinuate herself into Alice’s life.

As the story progresses, the reader must decide who is behaving oddly, who, even may be showing signs of mental health issues. Randomly arriving on someone’s door after a terrific fall-out – and out of the blue – seems like madness; yet Alice letting Lucy across the apartment threshold, without a quibble, also seems singularly foolish.

This is stylish storytelling, a beautifully written book, with interesting characters. Tangier, the city of rainbow colour and teaming masses is indeed a character in its own right, a wonderfully described setting in terms of TripFiction and literary wanderlust. The author makes use of the coastline history and the souks and alleyways, with visits to the famous Cafe Hafa, established in 1921. The city is colourfully – and at times menacingly depicted – as a place with many sides; it is also a city that has had to bend and adjust to different rulers – originally Tingis, Tanger in French, Tánger when the Spanish were there and Tanjah in Arabic. A multi faceted metropolis.

I immensely enjoyed the book, it has shades of Patricial Highsmith and Daphne du Maurier. It lost a little of its taut construct and petered out just a little towards the end but that is a tiny gripe, as the book has stayed with me since I read it.

And why the title? Tangerine / tan(d)ʒəˈriːn/ – “of or pertaining to Tangier”… (and also the port from which tangerines were first shipped to Europe in 1841).

If you like the style of writing in Tangerine, then you might also like the TV series, The Last Post, set in Oman, and the novel In The Kingdom of Men, set in Saudi Arabia and both set a little later in the 1960s. Women struggling in a man’s world… with an eloquent and sultry setting.

The book is soon to be a major film starring Scarlett Johansson, produced by George Clooney.

The initial attraction was Tangiers and the reviews. Loving Paul Bowles also set me up for this disappointment.
When a story takes place in a certain period this being the mid 50"s, I expect the author to use language befitting of the time. This was not the case here. In fact the language was all over the board and the grammatical errors were often distracing. As others have mentinned the lack of subltley was absent completely. I can see that this could of been used to the story"s benefit but it was not in this case a benefit. I did try to like Alice, never got to that point.
I wanted to feel so much more and the plot line did have enough intrigue to want to see the story wind to a finish, however my head hurt to much trying to wade thru the thick voices and never quite knowing enough about anything was confusing. Eventually gave up.
2 stars for the possibility of a great story.

Was she being gas-lighted? Was she perhaps suffering from dissociative identity disorder? Was the other girl just plain evil, more than a con artist? She had no friends? How could someone be so alone? How could someone be so dependent? Does money insulate you like that?

And your mind just keeps asking these questions, playing a constant commentary, while you read what appears to be a nice story.

A near perfect noir! Tangerine is a Patricia Highsmith-like tale, set in the world of expats in Tangier. The characters shiver with potential and anxiety. There are a couple of glitches in the plotting that kept me from saying it's a perfect noir, but that's not stopping me from telling all my friends to read it. I don't want to give away anything else.

It is okay, but not a whole lot better than okay. I was taken in by the Joyce Carol Oates blurb comparing the writer to Donna Tartt. Not really - - Donna Tartt is a serious writer, Ms. Mangan is a storyteller. The characters were all a bit histrionic, motivations were unclear, and the villain of the story went from being a besotted, insecure outcast to a violent, manipulative schemer, sometimes in the same chapter. So inconsistent was the villain's character development that I was expecting an "unreliable narrator" twist. Suffice it to say I was expecting more. But I did finish it; it was a quick read because there was little depth to plumb.

I listened to the book on audio and it got me through a long and boring drive. However, the audio was marvelously done and the characters were distinguishable by voice. Others reading the books complained of trouble distinguishing Alice from her nemesis, Lucy.. I thought the locale and atmosphere of Tangiers in that era, 1950"s, was superbly done although folks stationed there might have a valid complaint although there was enough atmosphere and locale description for me. The one great complaint I have was the ending. Not to be a "spoiler" I will not say more here but I had many suggestions in my mind for a better ending. Irene Sullivan

This book is a psychological thriller set in 1950s Morocco with flashbacks to college days in Bennington, Vermont. It's about 2 girls, former roomates, and their maddening connection to one another. It was suspenseful, an easy read (finished in a day), but would have liked to see more depth/complexity in the characters, and more about Morocco circa 1950s. This wasn't a horrible read but I do wish I hadn't spent $12 on this book as I promptly donated it to a friend right after finishing it!

I felt as if I were actually in Tangiers with the characters. Ms Mangan seems to know her way around Morocco. I was drawn to this book as I heard it was written in the style of Patricia Highsmith, one of my favorite writers. It definitely falls short of Ms Highsmith, but if you are not as big a fan as I am, you should enjoy this good story.

I did not care for this book. If you liked the “Girl on the Train”, you will probably like this book. It is told from the viewpoint of the two main characters in alternating chapters. It is very slow paced, because so many scenes are recounted in great detail from each character’s perspective.

This is a mess of a story, not close to good writing, very breathless and melodramatic. I didn't like any of the characters or care much what happened to them. This could have been a great plot but it never was developed. It read like a first draft, and was lukewarm.

Very well thought out suspenseful storyline. Starts off as just a novel then the suspense grabs you. The ending lends to a continuous storyline for the characters. Hopefully Christine Mangan will write another novel and continue the story. I can see this book being made into a movie.

Hated this book. Writing is redundant, every other sentence is explaining the characters feelings and it's always the same. The ending seems like the author decided she didn't want to write anymore so she just ended it.

I'm only a couple of chapters in, but I'm going to have to give up. Ms. Mangan's writing is so riddled with mistakes and bad syntax, I can't keep my mind on the story. I can't imagine how or why her editors would be willing to let the MS be published in its current state.

The story could have been great but this read was painfully long and ridiculous in that even the most remote possibilities became realities. I’m disappointed to say the least as I’ve read rave reviews of this book. I didn’t make it to the end; I hope that the villanness gets her comeuppance but I couldn’t bear any more detail or frustrations with the characters. I kept thinking that I was reading the written version of, “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte”.

If you enjoyed daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, you will probably find this book fascinating. The mysterious overtones of the novel, the nuances of the situation, and the exotic location all contribute to mesmerizing the reader. Although predictable in some instances, the evolution of the plot and the ending provide a satisfying read.

I checked out a copy of this book from the local library to read with @saltwaterreads. All opinions are my own. ☄Tangerine by Christine Mangan. ???? Alice has moved forward with her life, married, learned to survive on her own until..........one day an old college room mate shows up out of no where. Unwanted and unsettling are the least of Alice's worries once Lucy enters her life. Alice's past is full of loss and devastation and effects her whole life and lands her in a world of trouble she was so naive to not see coming.

This novel is incredible - it's atmospheric and smart and the writing is great! I loved the setting and getting a window into that part of the world (and into the life of an American woman living there at the time) through Mangan's fabulous descriptions. Tight and twisty!

Not really on the level of Highsmith or Hitchcock but not bad for a debut novel. It all felt derivative and familiar, as if trying too hard to emulate the greats. Moderately diverting with an unsatisfying ending.

Don't get the great reviews at all, though I must admit I didn't actually read all of it, due to boredom and annoyance. The alternating voices of the 2 women narrators is confusing and their voices are similar. And the whole thing is preposterous.

This book had me from its first page...an exotic setting and intoxicatingly devious characters - I absolutely loved it and recommend to all those readers looking for intelligent suspense. This is one you won't feel you've read before!!