- Hardcover: 250 pages
- Publisher: Simon and Schuster; First American Edition edition (May 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0684802481
- ISBN-13: 978-0684802480
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Psychological stereotyping and unconvincing plotting undermine this tale of sexual abuse, incest and murder from prolific British novelist Brett (A Shock to the System; the Charles Paris novels). Attractive, willful London TV producer Laura Fisher has a hard time with intimacy. Her father sexually abused her and beat her brother, Kent, as children, and was imprisoned for strangling their mother to death. The narrative's first half, set in 1973, chronicles Laura's decision to get pregnant and raise a healthy, normal child of her own. She picks out a stranger in a hotel bar, seduces him, then scares him off with a pistol. Twenty years later, she and her son are living together in Bristol. When he is accused of assaulting his girlfriend, and later of murdering her, Laura must confront her gruesome family legacy and the emotional damage that her brother, now a police detective, has been warning her about for years. Brett relies too often on the lurid to pique reader interest: during an attempted strangling, the intended victim finds what's happening to her "strangely erotic." He relies too heavily on childhood trauma to explain motivation as well, and his plot misdirections won't keep most readers from picking out the villain long before the melodramatic climax. This is a disappointing offering from a writer who's capable of more persuasive, and more entertaining, work.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Brett is best known for his amateur detective, Charles Paris, a witty, down-at-the-heels actor. He has also written several psychological suspense novels, of which this is the latest. While our reviewer found "the polished style is as good as ever" in A Shock to the System (LJ 5/1/85), the same cannot be said of Singled Out. Told mostly in flashback, it chronicles the sad story of Laura, sexually molested as a child by her father, and the impact that abuse has had on her life and on her brother's. The series of murders that follow Laura, and the possibility that her son may have killed his girlfriend and continued the brutal family legacy left by her father, who murdered her mother, haunt Laura but not the reader. Perhaps the monotone voice of the main character is supposed to mirror the emotionless quality of her life, yet the flatness doesn't quite work for a woman who is also a very successful TV producer/director. The savvy reader will guess who the real culprit is. Stick with Brett's Paris mysteries.?Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The man looked suitable for her purposes. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The man looked suitable for her purposes. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
3.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, Mar 8 2006
By R. E. Whitlock - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Singled Out (Paperback)
In this novel of psychological suspense, Laura Fisher is determined to put her abusive childhood and marriage behind her and create a new happy life. Through hard work and determination, she achieves success as a television producer and raises a son by herself. As her son enters adulthood, she begins to suspect that he may have inherited a legacy of violence.I read this book because I greatly enjoyed Mr. Brett's previous two out-of-series novels, A Shock to the System and Dead Romantic. I did not enjoy Singled Out as much. The first disappointment was the use of graphic sex scenes. The other two novels dealt with complex sexual themes, but nonexplicity. I also felt the book suffered from lack of character development, especially that of Laura's son. We are suddenly introduced to him as a university student, and have no idea what sort of person he is. Perhaps this ambiguity is intentional, but I found it made the character uninteresting.
The best scenes were those where Laura and her brother debated the possibility of overcoming a tragic childhood. The counterpoint of Laura's optimisim and her brother's fatalism made for good reading.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Suprisingly dark little tale from cosy crime maestro, Oct 29 2002
By F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Singled Out (Hardcover)
Singled Out stands somewhat apart from most other crime novels by Simon Brett.For one thing it is not a series book and there is no place for either Charles Parris the actor cum sleuth,or for Mrs Pargeter ,the Miss Marple like figure,who have been in the vast majority of his titles.More importantly it is not a cosy,for there is an edge to the book lacking in his series works.The book takes place in two distinct halves,opening in 1974 when Laura Fisher,a TV producer sets out to seduce a total stranger in a London hotel room,with the object of getting pregnant.She was abused by her father who is serving time for murder and child abuse,and her marriage to privately educated Michael has also seen her beaten up.She is determined to prove that she can raise a child as a single mother and break the chain of abuse and violence.Her policemen brother Kent,who sought to protect her during childhood is unsure of her wisdom but she proceeds.At the end of the opening part it is revealed that the father was under suspicion of murdering a woman near the hotel where the child was conceived.
Part 2 takes place in 1993 and the son Tom is now 19-a strange,uncommunicative child who is accused of assault on a female student who is subsequently killed.Has "bad blood"asserted itself again?
The book deals with the theme of child abuse frankly and openly and the damage to those who are victims is made clear especially on Kent,the brother who is emotionally constipated.Brett is strong on the type of middle class hypocrisy that can sweep abuse under the carpet in order to maintain appearances
He also deals with sexist attitudes in the 70,s and shows how the spirit of the pioneers of the womens movement has been hijacked by platitude mouthing nonentities in these exalted times and the lie of political correctness is nailed with precision..Good plotting,sharp characterization and crisp writing go towards making this a neat and economical little tale that devotees of the medium boiled crime tale will enjoy
Crisp writing,sharp characters and a neat working out of the plot
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quick read, interesting character, surprise twist at the end, July 24 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Singled Out: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)
This book was recommended to me by a fellow Richard North Patterson fan. This is not as gripping, but a very good read. I could feel a plot twist coming at the end of part 1 -- but I didn't figure out "who did it" until the last few chapters. This is a great summer book.
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