Published by Crown Publishing GroupDate Published: 2014-06-03
Pages: 400
Genres: Secular Fiction
Format: eBook
Source: Blogging For Books
Purchase: Amazon
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Rating:
The blistering, compulsively readable new novel from Herman Koch, author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Dinner.When a medical procedure goes horribly wrong and famous actor Ralph Meier winds up dead, Dr. Marc Schlosser needs to come up with some answers. After all, reputation is everything in this business. Personally, he’s not exactly upset that Ralph is gone, but as a high profile doctor to the stars, Marc can't hide from the truth forever. It all started the previous summer. Marc, his wife, and their two beautiful teenage daughters agreed to spend a week at the Meier’s extravagant summer home on the Mediterranean. Joined by Ralph and his striking wife Judith, her mother, and film director Stanley Forbes and his much younger girlfriend, the large group settles in for days of sunshine, wine tasting, and trips to the beach. But when a violent incident disrupts the idyll, darker motivations are revealed, and suddenly no one can be trusted. As the ultimate holiday soon turns into a nightmare, the circumstances surrounding Ralph’s later death begin to reveal the disturbing reality behind that summer’s tragedy. Featuring the razor-sharp humor and acute psychological insight that made The Dinner an international phenomenon, Summer House with Swimming Pool is a controversial, thought-provoking novel that showcases Herman Koch at his finest.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author/Blogging For Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.
My Thoughts:
Where do I begin? Well, I will begin with this won’t be a long review. Why? Because, this book is absolutely not my favorite novel. It was very hard to get into. But, I pushed and pushed and after three weeks of reading it……well, I finally finished it. I just couldn’t stay focused on it.
The characters weren’t my favorite. There was something lacking in them. The plot line had some twists and turns to it, but it was strong enough to keep me pulled in and focused the entire reading period.
With all that said, I will give this author another go. I find that sometimes authors have “off” days of writing and fabulous days of writing and perhaps, with this particular book, this author was a little off for my liking. I will recommend this book to others to try despite the low rating I give it. Just because I don’t like something, doesn’t mean others will. This was a good effort at a mysterious page turning thriller, but it just lacked the captivating bangs that I love in a thriller.
About Herman Koch
Herman Koch (1953) is known as a television producer and a writer. The book ‘Het diner’, published in 2009, was his breakthrough in the Netherlands. It was published in 17 countries. It was partly based on a true story involving a homeless woman named, María del Rosario Endrinal Petit, in Barcelona (Spain), in December 2005.
Koch was born in Arnhem, and later moved to Amsterdam. He studied Russian for some months, and lived in Finland for a while. Nowadays he is married to the Spanish Amalia, and has a son, Pablo (1994).
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