The Poison Tree

by Tony Strong

Book Overview

The handsome student who lived at 57 West Street died there too, his brutal murderer never brought to justice. For Terry Williams, returning to Oxford University to complete a doctorate in detective... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440224985
• ISBN13: 9780440224983
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic read...great new author to keep an eye on

I read this book slightly out of turn (his second book 'The Death Pit' has the same main character) so I went into it already having an affection for the main character. Nonetheless, this book begins on an eerie note with a great murder, and leaves the reader suspended, constantly guessing and turning the pages. I think the characters are extremely well developed, and the book is paced very well. I never got ahead of the story in regards to figuring out whodunnit, which is rare. Tony Strong is a great author, and I recommend all his books. His last two are just coming out now in the states (I bought them in Canada because I couldnt wait to read them) and they are also both fantastic. I can't recommend his work enough.His storytelling gives new life to the tired old mystery.

Academica, sex and murder

Finally! A great mystery novel with many literary allusions set within the academic world of Oxford, with no holding back whatsoever on human sexuality in all its many facets. I could hardly put the book down, and can't wait to read his other novel.

Great Book

This was an action packed book, great for everyone. I finished it in only a few sittings.

Top-notch thriller AND out-of-the-ordinary writing.

The various strands of plot in 'The Poison Tree' are cleverly intertwined to force you to keep turning the pages til the end. Terry, the main character, is a league more interesting (and believable) than your average thriller heroine. As the rollercoaster story twists and turns, so do the emotions of the characters. As in Balzac, everyone is flawed, but this 'comedie humaine' has at least one very nasty character darkening the tale. Packed with symbolism and reference, the narrative is compelling - how refreshing for the reader never to be treated like an idiot. 'The Poison Tree' would make a very fine film indeed.

Unusual literary thriller with lots of sex and violence

Unlike the previous reviewer, I loved this book. Admittedly, the sex and violence are pretty strong stuff - the heroine, Terry, seems to spend as much time working out whether she's gay or straight as she does investigating the murder. But for me, her sexual ambivalence was nicely integrated into the plot, which ultimately turns out to be about sexual desires as well. It's also brilliantly written. Images leap out at you - on the first page "a light rain makes the street lights soft and hazy as dandelion clocks"; a page or two later the killer, having done the deed (with a soldering iron!) describes how "my head rolls slowly into the basket of my hands". But what really makes it is the central conceit: the heroine is a lecturer in detective fiction, and her lectures provide a weird & thought-provoking context for the murder she's investigating in real life.That said, there are times when the book irritates. It can't quite decide if it wants to be a serious literary psychodrama or a raunchy page-turning thriller. There probably is too much sex, and I found the frequent use of humour rather grating in what is otherwise a rather dark, gothic book. It might become a cult novel - certainly everyone I've loaned it to has had a strong reaction to it one way or another. I also rather liked the heroine. She's arrogant & aggressive, but next to her a lot of other mystery protagonists look insipid and bland.