Look Closely

by Laura Caldwell

Book Overview

Look Closely That's all the anonymous letter said, but attorney Hailey Sutter understands the meaning behind the well-chosen words. Someone wants her to investigate what happened to her mother, who... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778321835
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Mira
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.6" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Unexpected Plot Twist

Loved the plot and the detail. The storyline traps you within it and gets you invested to the point that when the truth is revealed, it was unexpected but always right there. I suggest this book to anyone to read it. Some similar authors would be Meg Abbott, another thriller/mystery writer who masters the category well, in my opinion.

Never a Dull Moment

This was the first Laura Caldwell book I had ever read so I can't relate LOOK CLOSELY to the author's chick-lit reputation, but I can say that this book is non-stop suspense, the kind that you can't put down and the kind that keeps you guessing all the way to the stunning end. Protagonist Haily Sutter's courageous charm glitters on every page. She's a one-of-a-kind character that makes you wish she were your best friend, but you'd never wish to be in her dysfunctual family. There wasn't a mini-second of down time in this rivoting story of a brilliant lawyer juggling a high-power career while tracking down the fate of her mother. I'd recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good, intelligent mystery.

A Fresh Voice

Laura Caldwell may have made her well-earned reputation in the chick-lit field, but here she demonstrates that her talent is bigger than that label. A solidly crafted mystery, this book may shake up your own beliefs about who you are and how you got that way. And isn't that what great fiction--in any genre--is supposed to do?

fast read

I say it was a fast read, only because for me, one who rarely finishes a book, I wasn't able to put it down. While visiting Chicago a few weeks ago, I came across a local magazine covering author Laura Caldwell. I was drawn to her "chick flick" history and went to the book store, only to find "Look Closely". Having lived in Chicago, I loved the references to places Hailey had visited while in town. And, having visited the Michigan shores, I could picture this childhood town she grew up. I can't wait to read another one of Laura Caldwell's books. I think I finally found an author I could really enjoy and relate to the characters. Thumbs up for sure!

Five stars - because the pages kept turning

For me, the measure of success in a popular mystery novel is whether I want to keep turning the pages. In this book, I did. I'm a fairly fast reader, but I grew impatient with my inability to turn pages as fast as plot twists developed. This isn't a deep psychological study of a family, but there is plenty to consider about how the truths (or partial truths) of our childhoods shape our lives. Supposedly forgotten events imprint themselves in ways that allow memory to recover itself when the time is right. This story is about how the right time unfolds. The fast pace develops, to an extent, from the bustling life of a young attorney in Manhattan. She is smart, likeable, and interesting. And the book is populated by similarly intriguing characters, people whom we can easily imagine given their realistic dialog and occasional foibles. As I closed the book, a few glitches became apparent to me, but these did not stop or even slow my progress through a very readable mystery. Given the parameters of this story, I do not know whether Laura Caldwell will be able to reprise her characters. But it would be nice to meet them again.

Laura Caldwell Does it Again!

With three previous regular chick lit novels under her belt, Laura Caldwell's latest book "Look Closely" is a suspense/mystery chick lit novel - one that I found hard to put down. It all begins when New York City Attorney Hailey Sutter receives an anonymous letter one day that simply reads: "There is no statute of limitations on murder. Look closely". Immediately Hailey knows that the note has something to do with her mother's death, which happened over twenty years ago but has always been shrouded in mystery and silence. As a matter of fact, she has been estranged from her sister and brother her entire adult life, and her father, who practices for the same law firm as Hailey, always closes up whenever the subject is brought up. Hailey decides to once and for all solve the mystery of what really happened to her mother. The only problem is, she has no memory of the night, although she was supposedly present. And nobody's talking. So she hops on a plane and returns to the small coastal town she lived in, and begins digging deeper. The timing is bad unfortunately since she is embroiled in a tough case with a difficult client and trying to make partner in the law firm, but she manages to juggle her travel plans accordingly. And slowly, she begins uncovering details she had previously known little (if anything) about. She also suddenly starts having flashbacks of the night her mother died. Soon, it's as though everyone could be a suspect or is hiding something: her father, who is definitely holding out on some important information and who wants Hailey to stop the investigation; the sweet, handsome Tyler who runs a hotel in the town Hailey once lived in that is inexplicably nice and helpful (and whose father had originally been assigned the details of her mother's death); her brother and sister, who she manages to track down just in time for them to suddenly and mysteriously disappear; and others. Hailey knows she is in danger and is certain that nobody wants her to know the truth. But why? I loved this book! "Look Closely" was a page-turner of a novel that I got into immediately. Caldwell has a way of drawing the reader in within the first chapter, and this book is no exception. This book has tons of suspense, mystery, a dash of subtle romance, and some of the usual chick lit elements. I was also pleasantly and completely shocked at the ending. There did seem to be a couple of tiny loose plot threads that didn't seem to get resolved in the end, but they were small enough to have not taken anything away from this wonderful novel. Overall, I highly recommend this book to all suspense fans, and to anyone who enjoys a smart, exciting chick lit mystery.