17 September 2013

Today's Read: After Her by Joyce Maynard

After Her by Joyce MaynardDo you remember what it was like to be fourteen, feeling as though you were on the brink of womanhood and wondering why everyone still treated you like a kid? During the summer of 1979, Rachel Torricelli got more than she bargained for when she figured she was old enough to secretly help her detective father catch a serial killer.

A little over thirty years ago, on a June day just before sunset—alone on a mountain in Marin County, California—a man came toward me with a length of piano wire stretched between his hands, and the intention of ending my days.  I was fourteen years old, and many others had already died at his hands. Ever since then I have known what it is to look into a man's eyes and believe his face is the last thing you will ever see.

I have my sister to thank that I am here to tell what happened that day. Two times, it was my sister who saved me, though I was not able to do the same for my sister.

This is our story.
After Her by Joyce Maynard (HarperCollins / William Morrow, 2013, p. 1)

Quick Facts
  • Setting: rural Marin Country, California, 1979
  • Circumstances: a serial killer finds his victims in the woods; a detective's reputation and psyche are breaking as the murders continue and the victim count threatens to reach two dozen; two sisters, daughters of the cop, decide to trap the murderer
  • Characters: Rachel and her younger sister, Patty; Detective Tony Torricelli; the Sunset Strangler; the Torricelli's neighbors and friends; the victims
  • Genre: mystery, thriller, family drama, coming of age
  • Themes & plot lines: sisters, family, first love, loss of innocence, parenthood, stress, 15 minutes of fame
  • Miscellaneous: inspired by the true-life case of the Trailside Killer from the 1970s; the author met the real-life detective's daughters and became interested in the might have beens; an Indie Next pick for this month
Want to Know More?

In the following short video, Joyce Maynard talks about the story behind her novel and introduces us to the sisters who inspired the characters in After Her.


ISBN-13: 9780062257390
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

27 comments:

(Diane) bookchickdi 9/17/13, 7:51 AM  

What a fascinating story! That video has made me want o read this book.

bermudaonion 9/17/13, 7:54 AM  

I liked this book a lot!

Harvee 9/17/13, 8:32 AM  

OOH! Sounds spooky good!

Laurel-Rain Snow 9/17/13, 8:39 AM  

I LOVED this book...and everything this author writes. I have been a fan since her very first novel.

Thanks for sharing the video...it was great.

And thanks for visiting my blog.

rhapsodyinbooks 9/17/13, 8:47 AM  

I'm kind of serial-killer-ed-out. Also, I think this one would scare me too much!

Mystica 9/17/13, 8:51 AM  

I never get tired of this kind of book.

Anonymous,  9/17/13, 9:10 AM  

Oh, that's such an interesting teaser. Makes me really want to read this book.

Catherine @ Book Club Librarian 9/17/13, 9:27 AM  

Gripping intro--I would definitely keep reading and possibly looking over my shoulder from time to time.

Here's my Tuesday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2013/09/first-chapter-first-paragraph-31.html

Book Blather 9/17/13, 9:28 AM  

2 times? Now I'm curious! Thanks for sharing honey, that was a great teaser. :-) I shall have to read more...

Daryl 9/17/13, 9:35 AM  

always enjoyed Joyce's writing when she did her weekly column in the NYT .. i think this will be downloaded asap .. thanks!

Beth Hoffman 9/17/13, 9:41 AM  

Wow ... I really enjoyed watching the video.

JoAnn 9/17/13, 10:03 AM  

I've been meaning to read this author. This sounds like a great place to start!

Sandy Nawrot 9/17/13, 10:51 AM  

OK I think you got me on the hook with this one...

Heather 9/17/13, 11:41 AM  

I like the sound of this one! My teaser: The Lost Hero

Sandra Nachlinger 9/17/13, 11:44 AM  

I have GOT to read this book! It sounds amazing.
My Tuesday Teaser is from SMOKE, WINGS & STONE.

Beth 9/17/13, 12:04 PM  

I can't read books like this, but it definitely sounds like a great read! Here is my teaser.

Anonymous,  9/17/13, 12:21 PM  

I have to add this one to my TBR - it sounds just like my type of book. Thank you for sharing!

Unknown 9/17/13, 1:49 PM  

I recently finished reading this book. It's fantastic. This was my first Joyce Maynard book and I'm really looking forward to reading Labor Day and some of her other books.
I really liked the video you posted although I'm glad I didn't hear it before I read After Her!

Anonymous,  9/17/13, 2:53 PM  

Oh my goodness, I want to read this! I read a review or two before that praised it, put it on my wishlist, and forgot to buy it so far. Sounds so intense and exciting; I hope you enjoy it thoroughly.

Belle Wong 9/17/13, 3:12 PM  

Now I'm worried about the sister - I think I'm going to have to read this one!

Unknown 9/17/13, 3:36 PM  

My Teaser: http://reviewbooksandmore.com/2013/09/17/tuesday-teasers-meme-91713/ or http://andreareadsandreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/tuesday-teasers-meme-91713.html

Margot 9/17/13, 4:02 PM  

i haven't read this one yet but, it sure grabbed me.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea 9/17/13, 4:12 PM  

Loved the intro and liked the book ---enjoy

Anonymous,  9/17/13, 8:40 PM  

Definitely intriguing...and sounds scary.

Nise' 9/17/13, 8:40 PM  

Looking forward to this book. I've seen a couple today set in the 70s.

Julie P. 9/21/13, 8:41 AM  

I loved this book. Review coming shortly!!!

Thanks for stopping by. I read all comments and may respond here, via e-mail, or on your blog. I visit everyone who comments, but not necessarily right away.

I cannot turn off word verification, but if you are logged into Blogger you can ignore the captcha. I have set posts older than 14 days to be on moderation. I can no longer accept anonymous comments. I'm so sorry if this means you have to register or if you have trouble commenting.

Copyright

All content and photos (except where noted) copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads 2008-2020. All rights reserved.

Quantcast

Thanks!

To The Blogger Guide, Blogger Buster, Tips Blogger, Our Blogger Templates, BlogU, and Exploding Boy for the code for customizing my blog. To Old Book Illustrations for my ID photo. To SEO for meta-tag analysis. To Blogger Widgets for the avatars in my comments and sidebar gadgets. To Review of the Web for more gadgets. To SuziQ from Whimpulsive for help with my comments section. To Cool Tricks N Tips for my Google +1 button.

Quick Linker

Services

SEO

  © Blogger template Coozie by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP