SUSPICION : A NOVEL

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: Although I didn't like the main character, Emma, I was sucked into the story and kept turning pages to see if it was a ghost or a stalker. The mathematics I found very interesting (of course I would), the soccer scenes I did not. I thought the red herrings were good, but I'm afraid I must agree with previous reviewers that the characters are clichéd. But none of this dissuaded me from finishing and going back to read certain parts again.

Rating:
Summary: Blah Blah Blah
Review: Anyone judging this book by its cover is going to immediately think it a bit of Norah Roberts' fluff or a ghost story a la the unsurpassable 'The Uninvited'. Unfortunately, this book cannot be categorized as either romantic suspence adventure or campy haunted house horror. At the very most its story revolves around grim happenstance spotlighting a woman obsessed with dire possibilities which she worries to death. Woe to the reader who empathizes with the negative, and swallowed by it, finds herself/himself unable to reach the same intended life-affirming lesson/message at the end of the book along with our too savvy main character.

The story should engage, but somehow it does not. After all the moody grief, there is no intellectualized savoring of the taste of strawberries as the author infers in her last paragraph. There is nothing but sour repellent mood, which most readers, expecting at least a powerful ghost story will abandon after the first 100 pages.
Emma and her family move out to Long Island and inhabit a large secluded house perched atop a Northshore village flanked by the Long Island Sound. Her husband, Roger, is a smart WASP physicist. Emma is a Jewish writer with socialist tendencies she feels she is betraying by leaving her urban nest of ethnicity. But this is not her only problem---someone is targeting Emma in a dangerous game of malice that tampers her livelihood, her sanity and eventually her life. Because of events that occurred in the past, Roger does not always believe in the validity of Emma's spin on reality. Hence, Emma finds herself isolated at a time in her life where she needs the security of strong friends and family.
Sounds potentially interesting, doesn't it? Well, it loses something in the writing. Narrated in the third person present, the format retains a choppy feel where the author uses too many literary analogies which seem forced, a little too light in atmosphere for the otherwise gloomy ambiance conjured up by the prose. Yes, Emma is a writer, but even so, I felt the author's choice of Emma's career a betrayal of sorts, Rogan utilizes her own personal experience rather than research a more appropriate and far less solitary and depressing form of employment for a woman already stretched to the limit and far too alone.

In a nutshell, this book isn't any fun. The idea is well crafted without any holes, but Ms. Rogan and her editor need to understand that no one wants to read a book where a heightened sense of disillusion and helplessnes are packaged as a ghost story/romance.

Rating:
Summary: Cliched and predictable
Review: As a lover of old houses, ghost stories, and women protagonists, this book was perfect for me. The possibilites seemed endless and it was interesting to follow Emma's train of thought, the events that led her to believe things that may or may not have been happening. Her suspicions were not all valid, and even tho some things seemed illogical, that's the point. Was it all in her head, was some of it real? Paranoia makes for interesting, sometimes frustrating, occassionaly frightening reading. Wonderful build-up at some points. Rogan's prose is easy, fresh, and hard to put down. I agree with some of the other reviewers--this one will keep you up late into the night!

Rating:
Summary: Your suspicions are correct, this is worth reading
Review: Emma a writer who has grown up in New York loves the sounds, clutter and smells of the big city that most want to move away from. Her husband Roger is one of those people. He secretly finds a house out on Long Island in a small town and drags the reluctant Emma out to see it. She is not too thrilled with the place and does not want to leave her life in the city. One room wins her over though, a room at the top of some hidden stairs which is the perfect writer's room, 360 degree views for inspiration. Her son Zack also loves the place. Much to the disgust of her sister and part of herself she reluctantly agrees to purchase the place and relocate.

This house has a secret though. An old schoolteacher lady did some weird stuff here in her final years and the locals avoid the place claiming she haunts it. Caroline a domestic violence support worker also moves in to the small cottage down the driveway that came with the house. Roger does not like her but she quickly becomes Emma's friend.

Zack is easily the best of the players in his new soccer team and the coach a womaniser not afraid to be labelled so is very interested in Emma. Meanwhile back at the house strange stuff is occurring when Emma is all alone. Is she going insane? Is the house haunted? Or is someone from her past back for vengeance?

This is a pretty good book. I recently read Hindsight, also by Rogan just before this one which is in a whole other league above this, but this is still a good book and a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Your suspicions are correct, this is worth reading
Review: Emma a writer who has grown up in New York loves the sounds, clutter and smells of the big city that most want to move away from. Her husband Roger is one of those people. He secretly finds a house out on Long Island in a small town and drags the reluctant Emma out to see it. She is not too thrilled with the place and does not want to leave her life in the city. One room wins her over though, a room at the top of some hidden stairs which is the perfect writer's room, 360 degree views for inspiration. Her son Zack also loves the place. Much to the disgust of her sister and part of herself she reluctantly agrees to purchase the place and relocate.

This house has a secret though. An old schoolteacher lady did some weird stuff here in her final years and the locals avoid the place claiming she haunts it. Caroline a domestic violence support worker also moves in to the small cottage down the driveway that came with the house. Roger does not like her but she quickly becomes Emma's friend.

Zack is easily the best of the players in his new soccer team and the coach a womaniser not afraid to be labelled so is very interested in Emma. Meanwhile back at the house strange stuff is occurring when Emma is all alone. Is she going insane? Is the house haunted? Or is someone from her past back for vengeance?

This is a pretty good book. I recently read Hindsight, also by Rogan just before this one which is in a whole other league above this, but this is still a good book and a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific haunting thriller
Review: Emma Roth lives with her spouse Roger and their son Zach in Mid Manhattan until her husband decides to move the family to a Long Island town he loves. Roger locates the perfect home; an old Victorian located on an isolated cliff. Emma, author of ghost stories, realizes the house is the ideal place for a ghost to reside, but is grounded in scientific fact so scoffs at the supernatural.

As soon as the family moves into the home, Emma sees and hears strange things that no one else senses. She hears loud crashing noises, smells lavender, feels cold spots, and notices a computer game that fails to follow its programming. At one time clinically depressed and even hospitalized for her condition, Emma wonders if she is losing her mind. However, she rejects that theory and begins to wonder if someone is toying with her emotions even though she cannot understand how that individual could have access to her home. Whether it is from the mortal or supernatural planes, Emma searches for answers even as she places herself in danger.

Is this novel a well-designed ghost story or a clever psychological suspense drama? Barbara Rogan keeps the audience guessing until the very end and even then she leaves room for continual doubt. SUSPICION is a wonderful novel that captures and holds the reader's attention throughout the tale. Emma is a great character, whose doubts add to the feel of the story line. However, taking a page from the novel, this reviewer suggests readers peruse the novel if they want to know which way the book swings. By doing so, the audience will have experienced a fabulous book.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Only if you are desperate!
Review: Fans of Barbara Michaels will love this one. Part ghost story, part mystery/suspense. A highly recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: I have never heard of Barbara Rogan before, but as I often do, I judged a book by its cover and snagged this one off the shelf. I thought it was wonderful.

The family Rogan has created is enchanting, and its character's emotions are as real as they come. Jealousy, anger, mistrust; So real and alive in all of us, we can not help but to bond with Rogan's creations.

Rogan has mixed together a little horror, a lot of suspense, and quiet a bit of love to make this novel come alive. If this is a preview of her other works, I'll be sure to pick them up.

Rating:
Summary: A great stormy day book!
Review: This book is both suspenseful and great fun. The plot involves a writer of ghost stories who moves into a house that looks like it came out of one of her books -- and strange things start to happen. Is it a ghost that's trying to drive her out of the home, or does she have an enemy that's alive and among her friends and family -- who else would have access to the house?

This is a book to read in one sitting, so start it early enough to finish at a reasonable hour (otherwise you'll be up half the night finishing it). What I liked best was its "tongue in cheek" quality, the fun that can be had by a writer writing a story about a writer who jokes that if this were one of her novels and not real life, her dog's refusal to go up a certain staircase would be a sign of a ghost. The author's joke, of course, is that it is all really a novel -- there is no "real life."

The book was well-plotted, the characters likeable and engaging, and the author had great fun with the conventions of ghost stories.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great.
Review: This is the first book I have read by Barbara Rogan. I thought that when I bought this book there would be more excitement and more "ghostliness." But the book started putting me to sleep, and that's when I knew I had to get rid of it. The book had good characters but lacked the plot it needed to support that fact. If you like slower moving mysteries, this book is for you.