WRITERS AND LIARS (2025) - Review

WRITERS AND LIARS
by Carol Goodman
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
On Sale: July 15, 2025

It's a great title. But I actually chose to read "Writers and Liars" because if I could write, I would wish it was like Carol Goodman. Her stories are literate mysteries, well-written, with interesting characters. The other thing about this book that drew me in was the way Greek mythology was woven throughout the plot. Oh, and I love islands.

FIRST SENTENCE: "The envelope lands with a thud on my desk with the rest of the day's mail."

THE STORY: "Writers and Liars" is a 'closed door' mystery with hints of Agatha Christie on an isolated idyllic Greek island owned by a wealthy man. Maia, our heroine, actually wrote one book in anger, after a retreat there years ago, sure she had been betrayed by friends. Now she has been invited back with the same group of writers. Will her curiosity be worth the pain? What could possibly go wrong?

WHAT I THOUGHT: Goodman is an excellent writer, but the plot this time is a bit complicated and there were things that seemed a bit contrived.

VERDICT: Highly recommended for those who love literate mysteries.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of "Writers and Liars" was provided to me by William Morrow/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

 

THE BONES OF THE STORY (2023) - Review

The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Buried under books and not interested in reading? What to do? Read an author who has always been a comfort. I picked up Carol Goodman's new mystery/thriller "The Bones of the Story" and was swept away!

FIRST LINE: "I'm just having trouble getting back on track."

THE STORY: Briarwood College has not forgotten the disappearance of a female student twenty-five years ago and the distinguished Creative Writing professor who died while searching for her. Now, the college President is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago. When the snow starts, people head home leaving the returning classmates at the college. Old rivalries are raised when they discuss the stories they had written about their greatest fears. And then there are more murders.

WHAT I THOUGHT: All Ms. Goodman's books are what I would call Romantic Gothic Mysteries with similar motifs and designs. She sets her stories in the Hudson River Valley in small college towns. Past college friendships, youthful indiscretions, secret histories and suggestions of ghosts combine to cause suspense and a sense of dread. In "The Bones of the Story" alternate chapters are marked either NOW or THEN and the author makes it even clearer as you start each section.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by mystery readers who are interested in the puzzle of a story and interesting characters.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of was provided to me by William Morrow / Net Galley for an honest review.

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THE DISINVITED GUEST (2022) - Review

The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
On sale: July 12, 2022

A number of years back, I read "The Lake of Dead Languages" (2002), "The Seduction of Water" (2003), and "The Drowning Tree" (2004) all by the same author. When I got the chance to read "The Disinvited Guest", I was delighted. Remember the advice about writing the book you want to read? For me that would be a Carol Goodman story. Great escapist gothic, ghostly storytelling.

FIRST SENTENCE: "We're here."*

QUOTE: "But what if those of us who survived really were haunted by those who didn't?"

THE STORY: Ten years after the first pandemic, with a second one expected, six friends plan to retreat to an island three miles off the coast of Maine. Fever Island was used as a way station for the sick arriving from Ireland in the 1800s before they could enter the mainland. Later the island became the property of the wealthy Harper family. The story is told by Lucy who plans to spend her time writing about its Celtic rituals, ghosts, and lives lost. Even though everything has been carefully accounted for, things quickly go astray or missing.

WHAT I THOUGHT: There is so much tension and unpleasantness among the group that the reader knows there will be problems. Lucy is highly susceptible to suggestion. As she reads a journal left behind by a young doctor recounting his experiences on the island years ago, she becomes obsessed and begins imagining things.

While one might not want to read about a pandemic while living through one, here it is merely used as a conceit to isolate the deftly drawn characters. Although some suspension of disbelief may be necessary, the roller coaster ride is worth it.

Goodman's descriptions of the island and it's mysteries are alluring. It's a nice touch having a map of the island included.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED Past college friendships, youthful indiscretions, secret histories and suggestions of ghosts combine to cause suspense and a sense of dread.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "The Disinvited Guest" by Carol Goodman from NetGalley/William Morrow Paperbacks for my honest review.

*This is the shortest first sentence I can remember. Two books ago, "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus, was the longest, a whole paragraph!

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The Drowning Tree (2004)

I discovered Carol Goodman a number of years back when I read The Seduction of Water (2003) and The Lake of Dead Languages (2002). All Ms. Goodman's books are what I would call Romantic Gothic Mysteries with similar motifs and designs. She sets her stories in the Hudson River Valley in small college towns. Past college friendships, youthful indiscretions, secret histories and suggestions of ghosts combine to cause suspense and a sense of dread. Imagine the artwork of J.W. Waterhouse.

Juno Mackay didn't manage to graduate from Penrose College. She ended up marrying Neil and having a baby instead. Bea is now 15 and Neil, once a talented artist, was committeed to the local asylum thirteen years earlier for attempting to kill his family. Juno supports herself by restoring stained glass. Her best friend Christine seems to have found some interesting information about a famous stained glass window at the college that Juno has been asked to restore. Asking the wrong questions sets a whole interconnected set of reactions in motion.

Luckily Carol Goodman has two newer titles for me! The Ghost Orchid (2007) and The Sonnet Lover (2007). The poems in the second title are written by her husband, Lee Slonimsky.