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Orion (2012), 352 pages
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Fiction. Literature. Mystery. Thriller. Things like this don't happen to people like us. That's what Lachlan Harriot thinks as he watches his wife, Susie, led to jail in handcuffs. Yes, Susie, a psychologist, was found covered in blood near the spot where one of her clients appears to have been murdered. But Susie is not a killer, Lachlan thinks. She's my wife. She's our child's mother. Secrets lurk behind closed doors, however, a dark truth made chillingly clear as Lachlan's efforts to prove Susie's innocence uncover an entire secret history �?? illicit affairs, false identities, unimaginable deception �?? and this brilliantly acclaimed, page-turning novel speeds toward a conclusion as shocking as it is inge
User reviews
LibraryThing member pdebolt
I liked this novel a great deal at the beginning - interesting premise and well-drawn characterizations through the eye of the narrator. By the middle of the book, I was starting to daydream through the same repetitive passages and by the end, I was skimming to finish it. However, I found at the
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end that I had not been patient enough because the pivotal conclusion was finished in several "meaty" pages. I am left wondering if Mina got a call from the publisher asking for the finished manuscript immediately and she had to end it. By then, I had tired of the seemingly endless navel gazing and preening self-importance of the main character, so perhaps it's just as well it ended when and how it did. In my opinion, this book is not a "keeper." Show Less
LibraryThing member madamejeanie
When prison psychiatrist Susie Harriott is convicted of murdering paroled
Glasgow serial killer Andrew Gow, her husband, Lachlan, embarks on a frantic
search for material that may help with her appeal. He simply does not
believe that she is guilty of the things he's just heard in court during
trial, and is intent upon proving her innocence and bringing her back home
again. But in going through the files inside her padlocked study, he finds
layer upon layer of nasty secrets. This is Lachlan's diary, Written as
daily journal entries on his wife's computer, unwinding the dark and
complicated story as he uncovers it. In medical school when he met Susie,
Lachlan gave up his own medical career to be a house husband and dream of
being a writer after the birth of their daughter, Margie, now a toddler. But
deception (and self-deception) abounds.
But it's the voice of this story, not the events, that grabs hold of the
reader and won't let go. Lachlan Harriott immerses us in his obsessions,
repeling and commanding sympathy in the same instant. He is a charming,
comic, intelligent narrator-and a man who might happily see his wife rot in
prison, not for murder, but for the greater sin of betraying and rejecting
him. Susie herself is seen as if through a long lens that can barely contain
her beautiful, sorrowful image; what she did or didn't do is less compelling
than what her husband reveals (or invents) about himself in his new life
after her conviction. What starts as a novel of investigation turns into a
journey of self-discovery and finally, revenge, with an ending with a big
enough twist to help it pack a punch.
This was my first Denise Mina novel, but it won't be my last. I was
especially impressed with her ability to write in the voice of a male
character so realistically. She's quite a story teller with a good sense of
timing. This was a good 'un. It gets 5 stars.
Glasgow serial killer Andrew Gow, her husband, Lachlan, embarks on a frantic
search for material that may help with her appeal. He simply does not
believe that she is guilty of the things he's just heard in court during
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hertrial, and is intent upon proving her innocence and bringing her back home
again. But in going through the files inside her padlocked study, he finds
layer upon layer of nasty secrets. This is Lachlan's diary, Written as
daily journal entries on his wife's computer, unwinding the dark and
complicated story as he uncovers it. In medical school when he met Susie,
Lachlan gave up his own medical career to be a house husband and dream of
being a writer after the birth of their daughter, Margie, now a toddler. But
deception (and self-deception) abounds.
But it's the voice of this story, not the events, that grabs hold of the
reader and won't let go. Lachlan Harriott immerses us in his obsessions,
repeling and commanding sympathy in the same instant. He is a charming,
comic, intelligent narrator-and a man who might happily see his wife rot in
prison, not for murder, but for the greater sin of betraying and rejecting
him. Susie herself is seen as if through a long lens that can barely contain
her beautiful, sorrowful image; what she did or didn't do is less compelling
than what her husband reveals (or invents) about himself in his new life
after her conviction. What starts as a novel of investigation turns into a
journey of self-discovery and finally, revenge, with an ending with a big
enough twist to help it pack a punch.
This was my first Denise Mina novel, but it won't be my last. I was
especially impressed with her ability to write in the voice of a male
character so realistically. She's quite a story teller with a good sense of
timing. This was a good 'un. It gets 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member austcrimefiction
In another classic example of reader blindsightedness (okay so that's probably not a word), I'd filed SANCTUM somewhere at the back of the bookcase and promptly forgot it was there. Such a relief to unearth it during a recent tidy up and to move it straight to the top of the reading pile.
Originally published in 2002, if you've not read SANCTUM for whatever reason, now is as good a time as any to rectify the miss. From the author of the much acclaimed Garnethill trilogy, this is a very different sort of a book. It's written in first person perspective, and whilst some readers are a bit leery of that, it works unbelievably well here. As SANCTUM explores the thinking of a husband whose wife is guilty of a murder, the use of Lachlan's own voice provides an intimacy that's disconcerting. It creates an insulated, personal, very intimate relationship between the character and the reader, and provides an author with Mina's skill with some serious options for manipulation (of the fairest possible kind mind you). Lachlan starts off very much as a man in grief, but it's not long before he becomes profoundly creepy, controlling and complaining. Other characters who come and go from his life astutely comment on him at points in the book. Susie, his wife, is distant, perfect, ethereal, extremely suspicious. There are others within the story - relatives, Susie's colleague, the live in help but ultimately this book is about Lachlan - even more so than it is about Susie and the man she murdered.
Lachlan, frankly, makes the reader extremely uncomfortable in his presence and you'd be excused for having some sympathy for Susie - as extreme an escape plan murder of another may well be. Sympathies ebb and flow, as ultimately the truth behind the murder is revealed. The Garnethill Trilogy remains one of my all time favourite sets of books - but SANCTUM is a fantastic stand-alone that was just absolutely un-put-downable.
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Interestingly, as I sat down to write up this mini-review I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising slightly as I think about Lachlan in particular again.Originally published in 2002, if you've not read SANCTUM for whatever reason, now is as good a time as any to rectify the miss. From the author of the much acclaimed Garnethill trilogy, this is a very different sort of a book. It's written in first person perspective, and whilst some readers are a bit leery of that, it works unbelievably well here. As SANCTUM explores the thinking of a husband whose wife is guilty of a murder, the use of Lachlan's own voice provides an intimacy that's disconcerting. It creates an insulated, personal, very intimate relationship between the character and the reader, and provides an author with Mina's skill with some serious options for manipulation (of the fairest possible kind mind you). Lachlan starts off very much as a man in grief, but it's not long before he becomes profoundly creepy, controlling and complaining. Other characters who come and go from his life astutely comment on him at points in the book. Susie, his wife, is distant, perfect, ethereal, extremely suspicious. There are others within the story - relatives, Susie's colleague, the live in help but ultimately this book is about Lachlan - even more so than it is about Susie and the man she murdered.
Lachlan, frankly, makes the reader extremely uncomfortable in his presence and you'd be excused for having some sympathy for Susie - as extreme an escape plan murder of another may well be. Sympathies ebb and flow, as ultimately the truth behind the murder is revealed. The Garnethill Trilogy remains one of my all time favourite sets of books - but SANCTUM is a fantastic stand-alone that was just absolutely un-put-downable.
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LibraryThing member mrtall
Deception is a clever psychological thriller. Its narrator is a househusband who's married to a high-powered forensic psychologist who's just been convicted of murdering a suspected serial killer. As wifey lingers in the slammer, hubbie gets the willies, starts nosing around in his wife's papers
Sounds pretty silly, and in fact our narrator is a rather silly man -- but somehow it works. Although Lachlan the househusband is ineffectual, whiny and irritating to follow around at points, he's never the less a mostly-believable character. The plot also builds in a plausible arc, with just enough luck/coincidence thrown in.
This is an off-beat book that's a nice alternative read for crime fiction fans. Recommended.
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and effects, and finds that he's on to something that is not what it first seems . . . Oh, and he's suddenly attracted to the zaftig Spanish au pair who sports a tiny mustache.Sounds pretty silly, and in fact our narrator is a rather silly man -- but somehow it works. Although Lachlan the househusband is ineffectual, whiny and irritating to follow around at points, he's never the less a mostly-believable character. The plot also builds in a plausible arc, with just enough luck/coincidence thrown in.
This is an off-beat book that's a nice alternative read for crime fiction fans. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member jonesjohnson
wow. i had forgotten fiction could be so good. can i have another, please?
LibraryThing member safetygirl
Didn't enjoy it as much as Mina's Garnethill trilogy.
LibraryThing member bhowell
This was the first Denise Mina novel that I read and I have been hooked ever since.
LibraryThing member cathyskye
First Line: I'm shocked.
29-year-old Lachlan Harriot is in a state of disbelief. His ambitious wife Susie, a forensic psychiatrist, has just been found guilty of the murder of serial killer Andrew Gow, who was in her care. In the next two weeks, Lachlan must find grounds for an appeal, or Susie
Lachlan is convinced of Susie's innocence, and against her express wishes, each night he trudges up the stairs to Susie's sanctum sanctorum-- her study-- where he goes through all her papers. Sitting at the computer, he painstakingly transcribes her case notes, her interviews with Gow and his new wife Donna, and the press clippings from the trial. As he works, he soon finds out that he's raising more questions than he answers, and that the lines between perception and reality, between responsibility and culpability, are blurring.
Before I go any further, I need to clarify something. I read the UK edition of this book, which was published as Sanctum in 2003. This same book was published in the US as Deception, so if you think you've just discovered a Denise Mina book that you haven't read, be careful! Although the US title is more straightforward, I prefer Sanctum because it's much more evocative of the layers to be found within this book.
Mina wrote this book in diary form, beginning and ending with disclaimers that these diaries were found and purchased by her as the highest bidder and as the collector of true crime stories. Make no mistake: every word was written by Mina. Few writers can create such in-depth character studies.
And this is exactly what Sanctum is-- a multi-layered, revealing character study told by a young man who's not all that likable but definitely fascinating. As his self-appointed task consumes more and more of his time, he begins piecing small clues together, and he begins to doubt. As he types away at the computer, he wonders if he ever really knew his wife. Just how self-deluding could he have been? Watching the lies and cover-ups unravel to reveal the truth beneath is mesmerizing.
If you love a well-developed mystery that unfolds inexorably to its conclusion all the while limning a character that you'll come to know better than you know yourself, Sanctum is a book that you will savor.
29-year-old Lachlan Harriot is in a state of disbelief. His ambitious wife Susie, a forensic psychiatrist, has just been found guilty of the murder of serial killer Andrew Gow, who was in her care. In the next two weeks, Lachlan must find grounds for an appeal, or Susie
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will be given a life sentence, depriving her of her home, her husband, and her two-year-old daughter. Lachlan is convinced of Susie's innocence, and against her express wishes, each night he trudges up the stairs to Susie's sanctum sanctorum-- her study-- where he goes through all her papers. Sitting at the computer, he painstakingly transcribes her case notes, her interviews with Gow and his new wife Donna, and the press clippings from the trial. As he works, he soon finds out that he's raising more questions than he answers, and that the lines between perception and reality, between responsibility and culpability, are blurring.
Before I go any further, I need to clarify something. I read the UK edition of this book, which was published as Sanctum in 2003. This same book was published in the US as Deception, so if you think you've just discovered a Denise Mina book that you haven't read, be careful! Although the US title is more straightforward, I prefer Sanctum because it's much more evocative of the layers to be found within this book.
Mina wrote this book in diary form, beginning and ending with disclaimers that these diaries were found and purchased by her as the highest bidder and as the collector of true crime stories. Make no mistake: every word was written by Mina. Few writers can create such in-depth character studies.
And this is exactly what Sanctum is-- a multi-layered, revealing character study told by a young man who's not all that likable but definitely fascinating. As his self-appointed task consumes more and more of his time, he begins piecing small clues together, and he begins to doubt. As he types away at the computer, he wonders if he ever really knew his wife. Just how self-deluding could he have been? Watching the lies and cover-ups unravel to reveal the truth beneath is mesmerizing.
If you love a well-developed mystery that unfolds inexorably to its conclusion all the while limning a character that you'll come to know better than you know yourself, Sanctum is a book that you will savor.
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LibraryThing member OonaOKnit
Totally freaked me out about marriage.
LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
Written after the Garnethill trilogy, which features a lovable if prickly social worker as the protagonist in some darkly comic stories, SANCTUM (apparently released as DECEPTION in the US) is a standalone novel which sees Mina heading in a completely different direction. In the novel’s prologue
I have to admit I didn’t really buy into the premise that this was a real world case (in fact I found the set up a bit naff) but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the fiction of a diary written from an interesting perspective. It says a lot for Mina’s skill that neither the naff-ness of the novel’s premise nor the unlikeable-ness of its narrator prevented me from getting into the book and staying with it.
It is compelling to feel like we are inside the head of someone who is undergoing some major, life-altering discoveries. His initial belief in Susie and willingness to do all he can to help get her out makes way for confusion and uncertainty as he learns new things. Snippets of information from various sources allow him to piece together an alternative version of his life and there is genuine suspense in the way Mina brings all this together. At the same time we watch Lachlan unravel somewhat in his personal life which is not all that surprising I guess. And its not what makes him unlikeable. He’s kind of a pratt to start with really in terms of his behaviour and life choices. He’s got a medical degree too but has never worked as a doctor, nor really as anything else and his decision to be a stay at home dad to the couple’s toddler daughter is not quite as redemptive as it might seem given the pair also have a full time nanny. Fair enough I suppose that he was fully occupied with his wife’s case when we meet him but I couldn’t help wondering what the heck he did all day before Susie got the sack and then went to prison. But even though he’s hardly endearing there are still some heart-wrenching moments when Lachlan has to visit Susie in prison, cope with the ‘help’ of his and Susie’s visiting family members and re-engage with normal life when he feels like everyone will be talking about him and/or Susie’s conviction.
SANCTUM’s storyline has some predictability to it but I didn’t pick the ultimate resolution and there were plenty of surprises along the way. I don’t know if we were supposed to feel like we got to know Susie – I didn’t but wasn’t that fussed – but the depiction of Lachlan is a treat. Irritating traits and all. The only thing missing for me was the dark comedy that I’ve come to associate with Mina’s work but as this novel was clearly an attempt at something brand new I won’t hold it against her. Perhaps not my favourite of Mina’s novels but still a cut above the average crime read.
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she tells us we’re about to read a sensational true crime diary that she owns, having been the successful bidder for the item at auction. What follows is a series of diary extracts written by Lachlan Harriot, the husband of a forensic psychiatrist who has been found guilty of murdering one of her former patients, convicted serial killer Andrew Gow. It starts just after Susie Harriot has been convicted herself when Lachlan thinks she is innocent and will be soon win an appeal. He offers to help by going through the documents and computer files in Susie’s home office. This prompts him to start his computerised diary and what he uncovers makes him question his understanding of what’s been going on with his wife. And his life.I have to admit I didn’t really buy into the premise that this was a real world case (in fact I found the set up a bit naff) but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the fiction of a diary written from an interesting perspective. It says a lot for Mina’s skill that neither the naff-ness of the novel’s premise nor the unlikeable-ness of its narrator prevented me from getting into the book and staying with it.
It is compelling to feel like we are inside the head of someone who is undergoing some major, life-altering discoveries. His initial belief in Susie and willingness to do all he can to help get her out makes way for confusion and uncertainty as he learns new things. Snippets of information from various sources allow him to piece together an alternative version of his life and there is genuine suspense in the way Mina brings all this together. At the same time we watch Lachlan unravel somewhat in his personal life which is not all that surprising I guess. And its not what makes him unlikeable. He’s kind of a pratt to start with really in terms of his behaviour and life choices. He’s got a medical degree too but has never worked as a doctor, nor really as anything else and his decision to be a stay at home dad to the couple’s toddler daughter is not quite as redemptive as it might seem given the pair also have a full time nanny. Fair enough I suppose that he was fully occupied with his wife’s case when we meet him but I couldn’t help wondering what the heck he did all day before Susie got the sack and then went to prison. But even though he’s hardly endearing there are still some heart-wrenching moments when Lachlan has to visit Susie in prison, cope with the ‘help’ of his and Susie’s visiting family members and re-engage with normal life when he feels like everyone will be talking about him and/or Susie’s conviction.
SANCTUM’s storyline has some predictability to it but I didn’t pick the ultimate resolution and there were plenty of surprises along the way. I don’t know if we were supposed to feel like we got to know Susie – I didn’t but wasn’t that fussed – but the depiction of Lachlan is a treat. Irritating traits and all. The only thing missing for me was the dark comedy that I’ve come to associate with Mina’s work but as this novel was clearly an attempt at something brand new I won’t hold it against her. Perhaps not my favourite of Mina’s novels but still a cut above the average crime read.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
A well-written noir about a woman psychiatrist who is convicted of murdering a serial killer, told by the point of view of her husband, who is trying to clear her but gradually unearths her secrets. The most remarkable thing about this novel is that the husband as narrator is completely unlikable
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and somewhat unreliable, yet Mina still makes him compelling--sort of like that compulsion to look at a car accident. I'm not sure about the "twist" ending; it seemed to come out of the blue. Show Less
LibraryThing member ThoughtsofJoyLibrary
Susie Harriot, a psychiatrist in Scotland, has been convicted of murdering a serial killer. Her husband, Lachlan, remains loyal to her as he searches through all her belongings in the home office to prepare for an appeal.
With Lachlan as the narrator, his daily thoughts and actions are shared as he
Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
With Lachlan as the narrator, his daily thoughts and actions are shared as he
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tries to find anything to help clear his wife's name. Some of it became repetitive, but for the most part it drew me into Lachlan's world. I enjoyed that process, but the last quarter of the book contained raw thoughts and language that didn't appeal to me. Also, I didn't care for the ending. Even so, Mina is a new-to-me author and this has piqued my interest to discover more of her work. (3.5/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
1409135292 / 9781409135296
Physical description
352 p.; 5.24 inches
Pages
352