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jaydeewers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
When Eliza Carmody returns to the small seaside town she grew up in, some things have changed, and a lot hasn't. Often the way when you return to the small town of your youth. Carmody's changed a bit though, and this daughter of the local cop, now lawyer, is there as the legal representative of a large corporation, defending a bushfire class action bought by residents of Kinsale, after it was nearly wiped out in a massive bushfire.
On the way into town to meet up with an expert witness a road rage incident unfolds in front of her, rapidly spiralling into deadly assault, made even more shocking because the perpetrator turns out to be her childhood friend, Luke Tyrell. The victim is an Irish traveller, and the attack is shockingly quick, extremely violent, and cannot be excused by the trauma the bushfire had caused Tyrell. Right from this opening rush of action, Carmody is troubled. Representing the corporation being sued is enough to put her offside with the town, her own experiences growing up there had been difficult, and her family fractured enough already, to have her hypersensitive about perceptions on both sides.
That hypersensitivity in Clifford's hands translates elegantly into foreboding. As the narrative winds its way back through Carmody's childhood, and the present, the after-affects of the fire, and assault, right up until the discovery of an old skeleton, buried near the historic homestead, The Castle, Carmody is slightly out of kilter. She's dealing with changing life circumstances as her desire for career and success falters; and her best friend is happy, pregnant and content to remain in their home town, working as the local doctor. The sister she has a very fraught relationship with is also back, her brother-in-law now the local cop, and her father unresponsive after a car accident.
Back when she was a teenager, the night of a big party near The Castle, the night that some friendships were strained between a group of teenagers, whilst other relationships were strengthened, somebody disappeared. Nobody ever knew what had happened, now Carmody feels like she never did enough to find out why.
It's an interesting juxtaposition - the single-minded determined career woman, ambitious and focused; versus the young teenager, struggling with a tricky relationship with her father and sister, missing her dead mother desperately, confused and scattered enough to accept that one of her best friends can simply disappear into the night. The adult woman wondering what the teenage girl was thinking, slowly explaining it as her father and sister's recollections are revealed, and people all over town start to open up about what they know.
Clifford is working with a heap of themes here - small towns, inter-family tensions, buried secrets, things that a community collectively wants to forget, things that fester and grow and eat away. Upheaval is often what cracks some of these lightly held threads together, and a bushfire of the magnitude of the one that hit Kinsale is the perfect catalyst. It's shaken the foundations of the town, it's dragged somebody back into their orbit that's desperate enough to get to the bottom of past events that she's prepared to rock those foundations further, and she's a perfect character to do that. An insider who is also an outsider, fragile and crazy brave into the bargain.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/second-sight-aoife-clifford
On the way into town to meet up with an expert witness a road rage incident unfolds in front of her, rapidly spiralling into deadly assault, made even more shocking because the perpetrator turns out to be her childhood friend, Luke Tyrell. The victim is an Irish traveller, and the attack is shockingly quick, extremely violent, and cannot be excused by the trauma the bushfire had caused Tyrell. Right from this opening rush of action, Carmody is troubled. Representing the corporation being sued is enough to put her offside with the town, her own experiences growing up there had been difficult, and her family fractured enough already, to have her hypersensitive about perceptions on both sides.
That hypersensitivity in Clifford's hands translates elegantly into foreboding. As the narrative winds its way back through Carmody's childhood, and the present, the after-affects of the fire, and assault, right up until the discovery of an old skeleton, buried near the historic homestead, The Castle, Carmody is slightly out of kilter. She's dealing with changing life circumstances as her desire for career and success falters; and her best friend is happy, pregnant and content to remain in their home town, working as the local doctor. The sister she has a very fraught relationship with is also back, her brother-in-law now the local cop, and her father unresponsive after a car accident.
Back when she was a teenager, the night of a big party near The Castle, the night that some friendships were strained between a group of teenagers, whilst other relationships were strengthened, somebody disappeared. Nobody ever knew what had happened, now Carmody feels like she never did enough to find out why.
It's an interesting juxtaposition - the single-minded determined career woman, ambitious and focused; versus the young teenager, struggling with a tricky relationship with her father and sister, missing her dead mother desperately, confused and scattered enough to accept that one of her best friends can simply disappear into the night. The adult woman wondering what the teenage girl was thinking, slowly explaining it as her father and sister's recollections are revealed, and people all over town start to open up about what they know.
Clifford is working with a heap of themes here - small towns, inter-family tensions, buried secrets, things that a community collectively wants to forget, things that fester and grow and eat away. Upheaval is often what cracks some of these lightly held threads together, and a bushfire of the magnitude of the one that hit Kinsale is the perfect catalyst. It's shaken the foundations of the town, it's dragged somebody back into their orbit that's desperate enough to get to the bottom of past events that she's prepared to rock those foundations further, and she's a perfect character to do that. An insider who is also an outsider, fragile and crazy brave into the bargain.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/second-sight-aoife-clifford
blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite trope in fiction is probably the person-returns-home-after-a-long-time-to-confront-secrets-of-the-past one. That's the premise of SECOND SIGHT, which explains why I picked it up. The story is compelling, the characters interesting, and the Australian setting atmospheric. The plot had enough twists to keep me guessing and the murderer caught me by surprise, which doesn't always happen since I read a lot of mystery/thrillers. While SECOND SIGHT is undeniably bleak and depressing, I still enjoyed it. I'm anxious to see what Clifford does next.
micht15's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! I loved this Aussie crime novel. Wonderfully written, compelling tale of small town secrets, lies and crimes.
Loving the female Aussie writers I’ve recently read - fabulous!
Loving the female Aussie writers I’ve recently read - fabulous!
ispeakbooknerd's review against another edition
2.0
Eliza Carmody has worked hard and sacrificed much to get to where she is today, a lawyer and partner, taking on the biggest case of her career. Unfortunately, this case happens to be her small hometown vs a large corporation. If you've read books set in small towns, there's always mention of the gossip and how quickly word spreads. If you've lived in a small town, as I have, you know this is true. Eliza isn't going to make any friends taking on this case. En route to do work on this case, she witnesses an old friend commit a heinous act. While this is being investigated and Luke is being sought, skeletal remains are found on a property near her hometown.
The book's title is utterly appropriate. Told in a dual storyline, 1996 and present day, Eliza is getting a 'Second Sight' of a past mystery and what's happened presently. This novel at times did not feel cohesive to me when it switched timelines and narrators. This may be a sign of Eliza beginning to question herself and what she witnessed, what she remembers of her past, in which case it's a sign of excellent writing. However, for this reader, it wasn't ideal.
The story is interesting and the word usage and sentence building is good. The reader gets to know several characters reasonably well because there are multiple narrators. The pace of events unfolding is satisfactory. It's not a slow read. In fact, I was able to read this in a bit less than two days in the limited amount of time I have.
In summary, it seems like there is every reason for me to have liked this better than I have. All the pieces of a good book are there, but they just don't "click" naturally into place for me, and I am left feeling 'Meh' after closing the book. Lots of people have really liked this book, so see if it interests you. Read a few other reviews. If you enjoy mysteries, Australian fiction, and it interests you, it might be for you.
The book's title is utterly appropriate. Told in a dual storyline, 1996 and present day, Eliza is getting a 'Second Sight' of a past mystery and what's happened presently. This novel at times did not feel cohesive to me when it switched timelines and narrators. This may be a sign of Eliza beginning to question herself and what she witnessed, what she remembers of her past, in which case it's a sign of excellent writing. However, for this reader, it wasn't ideal.
The story is interesting and the word usage and sentence building is good. The reader gets to know several characters reasonably well because there are multiple narrators. The pace of events unfolding is satisfactory. It's not a slow read. In fact, I was able to read this in a bit less than two days in the limited amount of time I have.
In summary, it seems like there is every reason for me to have liked this better than I have. All the pieces of a good book are there, but they just don't "click" naturally into place for me, and I am left feeling 'Meh' after closing the book. Lots of people have really liked this book, so see if it interests you. Read a few other reviews. If you enjoy mysteries, Australian fiction, and it interests you, it might be for you.
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
4.0
Another great Aussie writer to keep an eye out for... Second Sight is a fantastic story that keeps you guessing til the end...the very end. I love reading about this small country town and the characters that made life very interesting.
Eliza has moved away from Kinsdale and is now a hot shot lawyer in the city. She returns home to work on a big case, but this time she is working on the dark side - defending a big corporation in a class action over a bushfire. On her way to a meeting with her witnesses a traffic accident that turns lethal - and to make matters worse she went to school with the on the run suspect. Whilst she is still in town, some bones are found near an old hangout of Eliza's and she believes that she knows who the bones belong to.
As the cases are investigated her past starts to come back to haunt her, and we learn a lot about the townsfolk of Kinsdale. You will never guess the ending.
Thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book to read and enjoy in exchange for my honest opnions
Eliza has moved away from Kinsdale and is now a hot shot lawyer in the city. She returns home to work on a big case, but this time she is working on the dark side - defending a big corporation in a class action over a bushfire. On her way to a meeting with her witnesses a traffic accident that turns lethal - and to make matters worse she went to school with the on the run suspect. Whilst she is still in town, some bones are found near an old hangout of Eliza's and she believes that she knows who the bones belong to.
As the cases are investigated her past starts to come back to haunt her, and we learn a lot about the townsfolk of Kinsdale. You will never guess the ending.
Thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book to read and enjoy in exchange for my honest opnions
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
I had to continually remind myself that this wasn't set in the US, which just shows how narrow my view of this genre is. As far is the plot goes, this was very predictable: the one you least suspected as being the good or bad guy is, well, the person you should have suspected. Family secrets will be exposed and the misunderstandings will be resolved. Nothing surprising, but the writing makes up for it.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
readsalot's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shobizreads's review
4.0
This story begins with Eliza Carmody returning to her hometown of Kinsdale and witnessing what appears to be road rage and a crime. From there, the story alternates between present day and twenty years ago on New Year's Eve when one of Eliza's friends, Grace, disappears and is never heard of again.
The book alternates between these two different points in time as the stories and crimes involve slowly unravel as Eliza attempts to solve the mystery of Grace's disappearance and piece together how it may relate to what she saw happen on her first day back in town.
The writing describing this seaside town in Australia as well as the fractured relationships, miscommunications and guilt that the different characters experience is beautiful and insightful. Despite alternating between present day and the past, the story is not confusing and it's easy to follow along as Eliza meddles into present day police investigations and the old open case of Grace missing. The pacing is a slow burn where you want to keep reading so you find out what exactly is going on but you're also cringing about the ways that Eliza runs ahead with her theories causing more pain to others in the process.
Set in small town where everyone seemingly knows everyone else's business, secrets abound and the powerful protect their own, this is a 4-star read.
The book alternates between these two different points in time as the stories and crimes involve slowly unravel as Eliza attempts to solve the mystery of Grace's disappearance and piece together how it may relate to what she saw happen on her first day back in town.
The writing describing this seaside town in Australia as well as the fractured relationships, miscommunications and guilt that the different characters experience is beautiful and insightful. Despite alternating between present day and the past, the story is not confusing and it's easy to follow along as Eliza meddles into present day police investigations and the old open case of Grace missing. The pacing is a slow burn where you want to keep reading so you find out what exactly is going on but you're also cringing about the ways that Eliza runs ahead with her theories causing more pain to others in the process.
Set in small town where everyone seemingly knows everyone else's business, secrets abound and the powerful protect their own, this is a 4-star read.