Something Might Happen

by Julie Myerson

Book Overview

On a Monday night in October in a small seaside town in Suffolk, a woman is brutally murdered. There are no obvious suspects, she was not an obvious victim. She just wasn't, thinks her grieving, bewildered friend Tess, the type to have something happen to her.

Something Might Happen is not a murder mystery. There are clues, false trails, detectives, all the paraphernalia of the whodunnit, but Myerson's concern is with the effect of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099453525
• ISBN13: 9780099453529
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Vintage Books
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Gripping and emotive

A fascinating study of how grief effects people; from those closest to the bereaved, rippling out to those who may not have known (in this case) Lennie all that well but are shocked and unsettled by her murder. Unlike most people who have reviewed this novel I didn't find the lack of inverted comma's a problem but then I seem to have read a couple of other books recently whose authors have not used them so maybe I've just got used to that style. The blurb on the back of the book warned me that it's 'not a murder mystery' and whilst correct, I have to say it gripped me as if it was. I found it realistic and sensitive and with a spattering of humour I appreciated, which because it was dry didn't detract at all from the mood and seriousness. Myerson got into the head of Tess especially well and told what I think was a very realistic portrayal of mixed and confused emotions which most of us have to deal with at some point in our lives without having a murder on top to effect our judgement and relationships. She also got across how Tess's husband Mick, the children of both families and Al, Lennies husband felt...and how gossip spreads in a small town. An impressive book that will make you want to gather your family close and tell them how much you love them.

Excellent Thought-Provoking Novel

Something Might Happen is a tense and absorbing novel. It looks at what happens to the family and friends of a woman called Lennie after she is brutally murdered in a close-knit village in England. The story is told through the eyes of Tess, Lennie's best friend. As the book progresses we uncover a lot about Lennie and her husband Alex, as well as Tess and her husband Mick. Other characters also have a large part to play, notably Tess's four children, the police officers investigating the murder, the family liaison officer and Lennie's father, Bob.At first I was startled with the way that the novel is written in the present tense, which is different from anything that I've read before. It was very effective in making the action seem real and up close and I got used to it quickly. The characters were complex and interesting although they often did things that were not good for themselves - but I guess that's grief for you.The dialogue was faultless and really captured the way that each person was responding to the murder. The descriptions were also great - the ones for Tess's baby Liv really made her come to life in my mind. The tension grew and grew, but I was still not prepared for the ending, which was a real shock.Overall Something Might Happen is a thought-provoking book. It makes you think about the fact that something can easily happen at any moment to fracture our world. It's not a whodunit as such but I think most fans of crime novels would like it - it falls into the psychological category. I'm certain that I shall remember the characters and plot for a long time to come.JoAnne

You can't take life for granted

Isn't it always in the midst of everyday routine that fate steps in and changes everything? The obscure glitch suddenly becomes more sinister: someone is late or doesn't show up at the usual time. There is no explanation, but within hours, there is a phone call that changes a family forever, the façade of safety abruptly shattered.At the best of times, we like to think we live as if every moment matters, but the truth is that we forget, caught up in the mundane tasks that fill the hours of the day. For two English couples living near the ocean with their children, their days are predictable, with young children to Shepard from one place to another, play dates and sports events. Brutality strikes a blow to this comfortable domesticity for one couple, when Lennie, wife of Alex, fails to return home one late evening after a meeting. When Alex phones Tess and Mick, their best friends, they begin the long descent into acceptance of the truth: that Lennie has been murdered, a senseless murder with no apparent suspect or motive. In addition, the body has been mutilated in a particularly gruesome manner.Tess becomes the central figure in the drama, as Lennie's best friend and close to Alex as well. A grief counselor is assigned to Lennie's family and, because of his proximity to the unfolding personal drama, Lacey is in a position to monitor the emotional storms that are shaking the foundations of both families. Like Alex and Mick, Lacey is drawn to Tess, the mother of four, caring for a new baby, her other children and the only source of comfort for them all. But Tess is questioning her own role in the tragedy, whether she was Lennie's best friend, after all. She is also drawn to Lacey, who is all the more attractive because he isn't part of the emotional intricacies of the last few years. No matter what Tess decides personally, her choice will impact the future of each family. As the protagonists struggle to reassert their daily patterns before Lennie's murder, it is hoped that the imminent burial of the young mother will put to rest the self-doubts and second-guessing of the last few weeks. But fate intrudes once more, another subtle twist provided by the skilled author, plunging both families into yet another trauma before they have properly dealt with the first. In this process, the author exhibits her consummate writing talent.Myerson's style is remarkably uncluttered and the novel is structured in such as way that allows the reader to perch, like the proverbial fly on the wall, watching the story unfold. The character's forceful personalities create the texture of their relationships, for example, between Tess and her husband, Mick, Tess and her daughter, Rose. With minimal, never superfluous description, Myerson's characters define each scene with their actions. The reader is privy to the same sense of immediacy experienced by the protagonists, as vulnerable to the vagaries of fate as anyone in the story. This author virtually enables her reader'

solid police procedural cozy

Lennie, wife and mother of two, left the PTA meeting to go home late that night. However, she never made it back. Instead, she is found dead in a parking garage, the victim of a vicious mutilation.Lennie's neighbor Tess is mortified with what happened, but hides her feelings to take care of the two kids and help her best friend's husband Alex copes with this tragedy. The police question Lennie's friends including Tess and her boyfriend, but find no clues as to motive and identity of the culprit. Family Liaison Investigator Ted Lacey makes inquiries, but soon after meeting Tess, they begin a secret tryst. However, her daughter Rosa vanishes without a trace leaving behind a hysterical mother and a baffled police force.Though the story line travels at a deliberately slow pace, fans receive an insightful look at an English town on the verge of mass hysteria out of fear that they could be next. Readers who enjoy a leisurely pace will be hooked with the depth and understanding that the murder of a mom following an innocent event and then the disappearance of a young child does to the locals. Action fans need to go to California not England, but anyone who appreciates a slowly simmering police procedural cozy will want to read Julie Myerson's latest tale.Harriet Klausner