Suspicion by Alexandra Monir Pages: 304
Published by Delacorte Press, Random House Children's Books on December 9, 2014
Genres: Family, Gothic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Love & Romance, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult
Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher
A modern-day twist on the classic thriller, Rebecca, with a dash of the supernatural, a powerful romance, and a deadly family mystery.
“There’s something hidden in the maze.”
Seventeen-year-old Imogen Rockford has never forgotten the last words her father said to her, before the blazing fire that consumed him, her mother, and the gardens of her family’s English country manor.
For seven years, images of her parents’ death have haunted Imogen’s dreams. In an effort to escape the past, she leaves Rockford Manor and moves to New York City with her new guardians. But some attachments prove impossible to shake—including her love for her handsome neighbor Sebastian Stanhope.
Then a life-altering letter arrives that forces Imogen to return to the manor in England, where she quickly learns that dark secrets lurk behind Rockford’s aristocratic exterior. At their center is Imogen herself—and Sebastian, the boy she never stopped loving.
Combining spine-tingling mystery, romance, and unforgettable characters,Suspicion is an action-packed thrill ride.
Suspicion by Alexandra Monir is a young adult Mystery thriller with a gothic flair. I absolutely loved the cover, and the idea of an old english manor and spooky maze drew me in instantly. The book is divided into three parts, and I really liked that. Each one of the parts had a different feel too it and they were good divisors for the story. I read this book in 3 days, with 1 part a day. It did take a while to actually get into the maze, over 200 pages into the book before our main character ventures inside it in fact. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on this book. And the main critique for the people that didn’t like it, was that the book felt forced or that it tried to do too much. While I can see where they might be coming from, and I agree with them to a lesser extent, I didn’t feel like it took away from the story that much. I thought it was a very interesting and creepy read, but because there was a lot going on and the book is on the shorter side, that inhibited the book from going from pretty good to great.
Imogen used to visit Rockford manor every summer as a kid, all the way up until her parents and aunts were killed in a fire by the maze. Right before the fire, Imogen noticed something strange happening with her when she was around Rockford. Something that stopped happening with her when she would leave the manor. Fast forward to 9 or 10 years later and Imogen is back at Rockford, and things are starting to get strange again. The whole concept sounds really cool. There are also lots of twists and turns and slight romance, that I wish was a little better fleshed out. I wanted to see more of Imogen and her crush after she returned to Rockford, because what we got felt a little insta-lovey. But the romance was secondary to the mystery surrounding Imogen’s family and the grounds at Rockford.
I really liked the mystery. I am not sure how closely it follows the story of Rebecca, which Suspicion is based off of, because I am not familiar with it, but I do know that there were multiple twists that I didn’t even close to see coming, and there were plenty of things for me to be “suspicious” about. I liked Imogen a lot, and I thought her curiosity was a great driving force for the plot of the story. The reason where I can see where the 1 star reviews are coming from, are because there are a lot of different elements at play in Suspicion. But I don’t think it made the story bad, I just wish things didn’t feel so rushed at the end. I wanted the pacing to slow down just a bit and to have some of these elements and story parts fleshed out a bit more. Because everything was so interesting, I wanted more of it. And I want to run around in that maze. With someone else of course, because I will get lost.
While you are here
Have you entered these awesome giveaways?
Brianna
I’ve been wanting to read Suspicion, but I keep hearing mixed reviews like you said, thanks for the review though, I think I may read it ^^
kindlemom1
We felt very similar about this. I liked it and it was a fun read even though it had its flaws. am so glad you tried this though and did like it well enough. 🙂