The Chatham School Affair Audiobook

" The Chatham School Affair is a psychological suspense novel with the narrator looking back at events that took place fifty or so years previously, when he was a teenager. It is set on Cape Cod. If I had not been reading it as part of my Edgar Best Novels Project, I probably would not have finished it. Not that it was not well written, for it was. But since the story is told in the first person, it is the narrator who is the most fully realized character, and I found him self-centered and impossible to like. The story is certainly unusual and there is quite a bit of philosophizing by several of the characters. Some of their philosophies are better than others. There are many people who like this sort of thing, and to them I can recommend this book. I, however, did not find it edifying and can safely skip Mr. Cook's other books (the edition I read had an opening chapter from a subsequent book and I could tell I wouldn't like that either.) "

" Totally awesome book taking place on Cape Cod. A lot of going back and forth about a scandal that took place while the narrator was a teenager. I liked the fact that you had to keep guessing exactly what the "Chatham School Affair" was until the last page! "

" Perhaps I am too new to the mystery genre, but I always expect more of a Sherlock Holmes style or even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo rendering where the excitement of the mystery is uncovering the clues and piecing them together to find the culprit, or perhaps that is my analytically trained mind that wishes for it. Either way, I found Cook's style of reminiscing and only providing a glimpse of a detail here and there quite maddening. Although I suppose in a way, this also leads you through the clues until you find the final culprit, but it's not as linear and the clues are mostly misinterpreted by the reader up until the very end, yet because the crime is known the entire time it doesn't making it nearly as exciting as a "surprise" ending would be. Not my cup of tea. "

" Suspense. He's a good one. "

" A well written novel, absorbing, with a very quiet kind of suspense: what happened on the lake in Chatham? All we know from the beginning is that there were deaths on the lake and a woman goes on trial, facing hanging if found guilty. It was good enough that I finished it in three days but there was one important aspect to the ending I did not like. That's why I gave it four stars instead of five. "

" it was really difficult for me to empathize with the main character who was the narrator so I didn't get as into this book as his other I've read. that being said, I still read it in 3 days. great story. "

" I read this book because the author of the House at Riverton recommended it at the end of her book. I loved the 1920's time period and the twists during the plot. "

" A great storyteller, and a wonderfully poignant story - echoes of 'The Go-Between'. "

" I'm not sure how much I like the way Cook writes, but of the three I've "read" so far, this is by far the best. I think there's a corrolation between how linear his narrative is and how much I like the book. "

" A great book. Briliantly written and it kept you guessing right to the end. "

" Dark writer, but one of the best. I always read whatever he writes "

" An excellent mystery with beautiful writing by Cook..It is more of a literary novel than a hardcore whodunnit,but keeps you in suspense in anticipation of what happens next.. "

" I liked this book in many ways. It is well written, has a very interesting narrator, and despite the fact that as I read the book I felt there was no mystery, in fact the mystery is sustained throughout until the end. I would definitely enjoy reading others of Thomas Cook's works. "

" I liked Into the Web better. After I read that book I had a sense of what Cook's writing style was . . . and somewhat predicted the ending of Chatham School Affair. :( "

" This book seemed very slow. The story interested me enough to continue reading, but just barely. It certainly was not a page turner. I think the ending was supposed to be shocking, but it did not seem so shocking by the time I finally got there. Overall: meh. "

" Beautifully written story of an elderly man looking back on the part he played as a young boy in a scandal that rocked a small town in America in the 1920s. "

" loved this book, again the ending shocks you, i don't know how he is able to always come up with a final twist that shocks the reader. "

" Too clever by a half...grew to immensely dislike the fore shadowing. "

" Still undecided. Didn't like all the setup. Maybe it was all the setup, maybe I'm just desensitized, but the something horrible didn't seem all that horrible to me. Maybe it was the very distanced, aloof narrator. "

" A tragic "victorian" romance. Dark. "

" very slow, but interesting "

" this is one author I have actually travelled far and wide to find books by. His books are addictive. "

" Great summer read, especially if you are spending the summer in Chatham! "

" Excellent! Beautifully written. Proves there is a difference in writing and literature. Highly recommend. Very different from other Edgard Award winners I have read but worthly of the award. I would give it 5 stars (not sure what happened to the "my rating" section. "

" it was really difficult for me to empathize with the main character who was the narrator so I didn't get as into this book as his other I've read. that being said, I still read it in 3 days. great story. "

" A great book. Briliantly written and it kept you guessing right to the end. "

" Beautifully written story of an elderly man looking back on the part he played as a young boy in a scandal that rocked a small town in America in the 1920s. "

" An excellent mystery with beautiful writing by Cook..It is more of a literary novel than a hardcore whodunnit,but keeps you in suspense in anticipation of what happens next.. "

" A first rate mystery novel which will leave you hanging till the very end. It's not really a "who done it" type, but rather the author plays you along about what really happened with a young, very attractive teacher at a boys academy. "

" This won an Edgar? Ghastly waste of time and poorly written. Skip it! "

" Read this in 1999. Remember this as being a very good suspense novel, but cannot recall details now. "

" Exciting mystery. Fun since location was just down the road in Chatham.Had no idea "who dun it". Good finish, well developed. "

" Mystery novelist Cook is adroit at entwining past and present through use of flashbacks, and this book is a prime example. "

" The author twisted and turned to make this book interesting to read. Everytime you thought you had it figured out it took another twist. "