Cold Heaven

by Brian Moore

Book Overview

When an appalling boating accident off the coast of Nice allegedly kills Dr. Alex Davenport, his attractive young wife Marie finds herself in the ironic position of widow of a husband she had been planning to leave for another man. But Alex's body suddenly disappears from the morgue, and his plane ticket and passport are missing. So begins a mystery of hypnotic fascination, involving elements of the bizarre and the supernatural.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0030632579
• ISBN13: 9780030632570
• Release Date: September 1983
• Publisher: Holt McDougal
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Great Mystery to Get Lost In

Note: I have made some Mormon reader angry over my negative reviews of books written to prove the Book of Mormon and that immature person has been slamming my reviews. I get a negative vote from that person almost as soon as I post my review. Oh, well. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. I really got lost in this mystery. It has a beginning that really hooks the reader: After a woman's husband is killed in a boating accident in the south of France, she learns that his body is missing from the hospital morgue. When she goes back to the hotel, she finds that his passport and airplane ticket are also missing. She calls the airline and finds out her husband is about to fly out for the United States, but she gets to the airport just as the plane is leaving. Later, there is a supernatural element to the story. A good review doesn't have to be long, and I don't want to tell the whole story. I think with mystery novels it's better to read a long review after you read the story. This wonderful mystery is not one you will soon forget.

The most interesting book about Catholicism I've ever read

Moore asks, how we would we react, today, to a religious vision? I'd run like hell, and so does the heroine. All of Moore's books are fascinating, but I think this is his best. And the ending is perfect. (By the way, the movie was dreadful.)

Gripping

Brian Moore was Graham Greene's favorite living novelist and this book gives a reader several reasons why Greene was a fan of Moore. Only a major emergency could have drawn me from the book after the first chapter. But Moore is more than an engaging mystery writer. As in all his novels, Moore's main characters struggle with belief and doubt and the knowledge of sin. He offers no easy answers, but he provides a rich meal for any reader anxious for both nourishment and pleasure.

An amazing, eerie thriller, with depth and feeling.

Reading this book is like being caught in a nightmare. The tale is intensely gripping - an emotional roller coaster. Moore is a storyteller without peer. His language is clear, and draws no attention to itself. He simply puts you right into the head of his protagonist, and carries you along with her, as she battles with her conscience, her fear, death, and, ultimately, heaven itself. Beautifully done.This was my first electrifying experience with Brian Moore. More Moore!

Fascinating, absorbing, perfectly-crafted thriller

Having read many recently published books and not found many that I would give a rave review, I asked myself what book WOULD I rave about and thought about "Cold Heaven", which I read several years ago yet remember as vividly as if it were yesterday. The novel pulled me in with its unique, "Twilight Zone" plot, then deftly introduced other themes on the nature of love, sanity, spirituality and Catholicism. It is truly a gripping, haunting book, and a good introduction to Moore, who has written several other superb novels--although none, in my opinion, as memorable as this. One final note: avoid at all costs the film based on the book, a botched job if there ever was one