"The Other House" - a thriller

[Gladys]

Have others read Henry James' 1896 suspense thriller, "The Other House"? With blatant and imponderable ambiguity on every page, the novel is so different from his understated earlier novel, "Washington Square" (1880). I intend to read "The Awkward Age" (1899) next.

While I found "The Other House" enticing reading, I had immense difficulty in seeing malignity in Rose Armiger until she was exposed as the murderer. On re-reading the first chapter, I see her family background was noxious, she hates children, harmless Mrs Beever dislikes her, and Rose speaks with cryptic irony.

Still, murdering Effie on the day she returns from a four year absence seems a bit much. Did she kill to win over Tony, or to frame and foil Jean Martle? Winning Tony, by renouncing at once her supposed engagement to Dennis, seems far-fetched. And is her motive simply blind jealousy?

[TimeOutLive]

Join three of the most excited and tallented crime and thriller writers for a Q&A session about their lastest books. Featuring Chinese-American physician-cum-novelist Tess Gerritsen from California, who was a late-comer to the genre - having originally started in romance - shifting into medical thrillers at 47. Her latest book is 'The Silent Girl'. Also appearing will be Mark Billingham, a Brummy actor/comedian who began moonlighting as a crime writer in 2001 with his first book 'Sleepyhead', which saw the birth of his character DI Tom Thorne and spurned an entire series, the latest addition of which, 'Good As Dead', is due out in August. Plus, Berkshire boy Simon Kernick, who has been penning crime thrillers since he was at university, but didn't get a book deal until late 2001 for 'The Business of Dying'. Now, a decade later, with a string of novels beneath his belt, Kernick is set to release his tenth book 'The Payback'.
Check it out at: http://www.timeout.com/london/books-poetry/event/223091/time-out-live-thriller-night