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Who She Was cover art

Who She Was

By: Tony Parsons
Narrated by: James Northcote
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The mysterious stranger is perfect. But nobody knows who she is. And nobody can imagine the terrible things she has done to survive.

A young woman moves into a small cottage in a Cornish fishing village. She is beautiful and alluring, and among both the locals and the summer visitors, she inspires infatuation and resentment in equal measures. She carries with her no trace of her history, or her previous life, or the past she has left behind.

But that past is closer than she thinks. And it is looking for her.

Who She Was begins with a bonfire burning on a Cornish beach in the middle of the night. A young woman waits for morning, and the estate agent to arrive with the keys to her new life in the peaceful fishing village. But can anyone really have a new life? And what happened in her old life? And what price did she pay to escape it?

And when her past finally catches up with her in her idyllic new home, secrets long buried will explode into the light, and change the lives of everyone around her.

Who She Was is a My Cousin Rachel for our time—a psychological thriller of shifting perception where no one's identity is ever quite certain or ever exactly what it seems, a story that dances on the thin line between truth and lies, good and bad, and where it is never revealed who is the victim and who the murderous perpetrator, until the very last word.

©2023 Tony Parsons (P)2023 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Who She Was

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Good story

Quite complex, kept us guessing but some parts a little repetitive - maybe to emphasise the significance? Enjoyable though.

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  • Overall
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Proper Job

I liked the description of Cornwall and the locals. Proper job. Story was good but sussed the elderly copper. Ending seemed rushed and hurried and suddenly it was all over. Ambiguous ending but maybe I didn't get it. Not my favourite of his but the Audible version is excellent with excellent voice casting, my lover.

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

An intriguing story. A superb narrator.

I never leave reviews but I’m making this an exception. I loved every minute. Engaging characters marvellous backdrop in the minds eye and a most unusual plot.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great characters, story excellent.

Firstly, I have just finished this book.
I’m not going to say anything about the ending except; aargh, noooo.

We are thrown straight into the story and that doesn’t feel weird. You learn about the characters through the plot, each individual is very well drawn, we learn enough about them to form a good picture.
It’s a clever device that keeps the reader sharp and interested.
The plot twists consistently right to the end.

I thought this was a brilliant book, sharp without cutting, a gentle listen that simultaneously keeps you on your toes.

That ending though? Maybe I had allowed myself to be lulled into a false sense of security, so without giving anything away? Nooooo.

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Twisty

I got through this book in 3 days - the narrator told this story in such a way I could not stop listening - in fact I would have listened to him reciting the alphabet over and over his voice was so compelling!
But onto the story - without giving anything away I did not expect the final twist not in a million endings ! I liked how the scene was set - I don’t know if St Jude’s exists in real life but I want to go there on my holidays - the attention to detail was second to none and I liked the way each character was fleshed up so you could see them in your minds eye - so many authors give the main characters body and leave the others as shadowy but not here - I had read some of Tony Adams early books but not so much lately - so as a newbie to his crime fiction now I’m hooked !

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Excellent story

Really loved the story. Was totally absorbed by the characters . Was gripped by the story and the narration was very good

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating tale

Wonderful story. Fantastic characters and a really varied and ingenious style of telling the narrative. The ending was a little flat but at lease you are given a way to reconcile the protagonist.
Very good narration.
Recommended.

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Amazing plot .

Loved listening to the narrator he took the book where it needed to go . Listened to it in three days tops . Love Tony Parsons books anyway but this one was a cracker . Love Cornwall now want to go there asap .

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twists and turns unputdownable

all of it. Read beautifully throughout really excellent read and listen. Shame to have finished it

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    4 out of 5 stars

Throughly enjoyed

Took me a minute to get into it, but was soon totally invested, loved the characters, settings and the story.

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1 person found this helpful