Tuesday, February 3, 2009

It seduced me

Carol Goodman's The Seduction of Water sucked me in within the first few pages. The story's atmosphere, the lyrical quality of the writing, the simple story that slowly expands...I'm not sure what it is, but I just really, really like Goodman's writing. Her books are the sort that I'd be proud to be caught reading, one that I'd recommend to my mom.


The plot goes along these lines: Iris Greenfeder is in her mid-30s. She's a teacher, sometimes writer and almost has her Ph.D.--she just needs to write her disseration. Actually, everything in her life is an "almost." She has a boyfriend (of 10 years) but they have no plans to marry. She's a writer, with just a few publications. Basically, she hasn't accomplished all that much. While thinking about her mother, a famous writer herself, Iris writes a small story that ends up spinning itself into a book offer. All she has to do is go back to her childhood home--a hotel in the Catskill Mountains--and solve a few mysteries.

The story is a bit slow in parts but that allows you to savor it, too. It's a mystery but the action doesn't pick up until the last third of the book or so. However, compared to The Night Villa, there was more romance. I really liked the male lead--from the first instance of his mention, I was hoping he'd be involved in the book. (And I may have peeked ahead just to see if he was.)

Basically, I'm a Carol Goodman fangirl. And I've yet to read her most popular book, The Lake of Dead Languages. So perhaps the best is yet to come...

Rating: 9/10

2 comments:

Angiegirl said...

I think you've sold me on giving Goodman a try. My library has both the ones you reviewed. Which should I start with?

rachel said...

I liked "The Night Villa" a bit more, just because it had more action and an interesting dual storyline. Let me know what you think of her work!