Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (2003), Edition: Reprint, 320 pages
Description
Aud (it rhymes with "shroud" ) Torvingen is six feet tall with blond hair and blue eyes. She can restore a log cabin with antique tools or put a man in a coma with her bare hands. As imagined by Nicola Griffith in this ferocious masterpiece of literary noir, Aud is a hero who combines the tortured complexity with moral authority. In the aftermath of her lover's murder, the last thing a grieving Aud wants is another case. Against her better judgment she agrees to track down an old friend's runaway fianc#65533;e--and finds herself up against both a sociopath so artful that the law can't touch him, and the terrible specters of loss and guilt. As stylish as this year's Prada and as arresting as a razor at the throat, Stay places Nicola Griffith in the first rank of new-wave crime writers.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member trixtah
This is not yer typical dykey dectective story. Aud, the lead, has just lost her lover in a tragedy. While she is used to being almost super-humanly competent in nearly every area of life, grief is not something that she has ever expected to deal with. In addition to that trauma, she also has
An acquaintance asks her to find his girlfriend who has gone off to live with another man in mysterious circumstances. Aud takes on the task, while attempting to rebuild her own life. It's not the plot that makes this compelling, it's the psychological suspense story going on in Aud's head.
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fairly interesting psychological issues to come to grips with.An acquaintance asks her to find his girlfriend who has gone off to live with another man in mysterious circumstances. Aud takes on the task, while attempting to rebuild her own life. It's not the plot that makes this compelling, it's the psychological suspense story going on in Aud's head.
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LibraryThing member ishkabiddle
fascinating study of female survival instincts in contemporary world, urban and wilderness
LibraryThing member satyridae
11/2012 The ice is cracking in Aud. She's so sure she's got all the answers in the first book, and in this one she doesn't even know how to frame the question. I love the growth, the way the plot unspools, and all the fully-fleshed out minor characters. Not to mention the Narnia bits.
6/2009 In
6/2009 In
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this book Aud becomes more human. Coping with tragedy, she begins to realize that it's not all black and white, not all controllable. She's still superhuman, still incredibly compelling to me, and Griffith's writing shines. It's taut and gripping, the situations are sordid but plenty believable, and the resolution satisfactory. I keep thinking maybe if I believe hard enough in Aud she will become real, like the Velveteen Rabbit. Show Less
LibraryThing member bunwat
I really am liking this series. Its a strange hybrid, occasional bouts of considerable violence, beautiful lyrical prose, interesting character development, I'm not quite sure what to make of it all. Its very certainly not a conventional mystery or thriller. But whatever it is, I'm having fun and
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will continue. Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Griffith has written a couple of excellent sci-fi novels ('Ammonite' and 'Slow River'). 'Stay is more of a thriller/crime novel, but since I had liked her other books so much, I decided to pick it up.
What I didn't realize is that it is also a sequel (to 'The Blue Place'). It does work as a
In 'Stay' we meet Aud Torvingen - a Scandinavian ex-policewoman & private detective, who is in the middle of reclusively renovating an Appalachian cabin, and dealing with the emotional trauma and guilt of the death of her lover, a woman who had hired her to protect her from assassins.
However, an old friend shows up at the cabin, saying that his on-again off-again girlfriend has disappeared, and he suspects she may be in serious trouble - can Aud help find her? Even though Aud had never liked this woman, she feels obligated to help - and soon is off to New York City to try to find out where she went... uncovering a web of violence, psychological torture and exploitation in the process.
Quite a good thriller - a bit of a slow start, but the writing and characterization really transcend genre fiction. (Although Aud's detecting skills and ninja-type abilities stretch believability just a tiny bit.)
The atmosphere of the novel reminded me just a little of 'Smilla's Sense of Snow,' which is one of my favorite books in this genre.
What I didn't realize is that it is also a sequel (to 'The Blue Place'). It does work as a
Show More
stand-alone, but I wish I had read 'The Blue Place' first.In 'Stay' we meet Aud Torvingen - a Scandinavian ex-policewoman & private detective, who is in the middle of reclusively renovating an Appalachian cabin, and dealing with the emotional trauma and guilt of the death of her lover, a woman who had hired her to protect her from assassins.
However, an old friend shows up at the cabin, saying that his on-again off-again girlfriend has disappeared, and he suspects she may be in serious trouble - can Aud help find her? Even though Aud had never liked this woman, she feels obligated to help - and soon is off to New York City to try to find out where she went... uncovering a web of violence, psychological torture and exploitation in the process.
Quite a good thriller - a bit of a slow start, but the writing and characterization really transcend genre fiction. (Although Aud's detecting skills and ninja-type abilities stretch believability just a tiny bit.)
The atmosphere of the novel reminded me just a little of 'Smilla's Sense of Snow,' which is one of my favorite books in this genre.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 2002)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
7.99 inches
ISBN
140003230X / 9781400032303