Catherine Tolland must battle through her mental problems as she struggles to recall why she attempted to run away from her husband with no money or identification and why she has such a paralyzing fear. 15,000 first printing.
Janice Law (b. 1941) is an acclaimed author of mystery fiction. The Watergate scandal inspired her to write her first novel, The Big Payoff (1977), which introduced Anna Peters, a street-smart young woman who blackmails her boss, a corrupt oil executive. The novel was a success, winning an Edgar nomination, and Law went on to write eight more in the series, including Death Under Par (1980) and Cross-Check (1997).
After Death Under Par, Law set aside the character for several years to write historical mysteries The Countess (1989) and All the King’s Ladies (1986). After concluding the Peters series, she wrote three stand-alone suspense novels: The Night Bus (2000), The Lost Diaries of Iris Weed (2002), and Voices (2003). Since then, Law has focused on writing short stories, many of which appear in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Fires of London (2012) is her most recent novel. She lives and writes in Connecticut.
This book was simply awful! For one, there's little character development, the plot goes nowhere, too much symbolism, very little character interactions with each other, poor,poor poor writing skills and overall it's just a very boring book.
While this is not my typical fair, I rather enjoyed the lyrical writing style Law employed. The plot was not completely predictable, although I felt it was somewhat drawn out in places and the "night bus" metaphor was used as more of a bludgeon than a subtle undertone. I think the amnesia thing has also been beaten over the head, but Law uses it as a method of slowly revealing bits and pieces of important memories, as well as allowing for some truly wonder detailed descriptions that we might not see otherwise.
Not a bad read, I don't regret reading it, although I probably won't actively seek out more of her work either.
The reviewer is a graduate of Kent State University's Library Science program, an Antioch College alumna, and the author of the blog A Librarian's Life in Books.
A quiet introspective mystery, but with enough “whodunit” to keep you interested. I enjoyed the classical music metaphors, though at times they felt a little too drawn out. I wouldn’t recommend you run out and buy it, but if you see it at the library, give it a try.
This book was an interesting trip inside of the protagonist's head, as both she and the reader try to unravel the mystery of her life and what really happened prior to her ride on the night bus.