I thought the entire premise was brilliant.
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Buhmann's writing flows gracefully and is almost lyrical in its cadence. I love how close we are to Kate, in her thoughts and yet, she keeps us at arms length with her secrets. It's a feat to pull off the unreliable narrator, but to do it in first person point-of-view takes real skill. The plot is intricately stitched, all the threads that seem to be unrelated weave tightly together at the end. I can't wait to read more by Elizabeth Buhmann! The last twenty pages of the book have more twists than a bag of pretzels. The true appeal of the book, though, is in witnessing the disintegration of an obsessive personality Register Login Sign up for our newsletter.
Find out the latest indie author news. Elizabeth Buhmann , author. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook's eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker's identity.
Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook's eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life.
Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Lay Death at Her Door , please sign up. When is your next book coming out? Can't stop thinking about Kate--ready to read mystery another a complex lead! See 1 question about Lay Death at Her Door…. Lists with This Book. Sep 05, Priya rated it really liked it. This hugely unpredictable book left me at a loss for words. Picture me shaking my head in an unlikely combination of disgust and awe. The heroine of the book, if you could even call her that, is a severely prejudiced compulsive liar with no redeeming qualities and an obvious inferiority complex: The story took its own sweet time to kick off and during that time, I couldn't relate to Kate, Pop, Tony or any of the other characters.
It was only This hugely unpredictable book left me at a loss for words. It was only after almost half the book that I really started wondering about the truth, about what could really have happened, whether Kate knew the actual murderer, why she lied. When the last fifty pages were left, the mystery that was brewing slowly but steadily up to that point had begun bubbling with frenzy, quite ready to end in a fancy display of sparkly firecrackers: What could possibly go down in fifty pages that would make it all better!?
The ending had to be a disappointment. BUT I was wrong. The climax was so Deliciously surprisingly, wonderfully unceremonious and the ONLY reason I considered, if grudgingly, the possibility that I liked the book, after all. I loved how neatly the pieces of the puzzle fit together. I couldn't stop thinking about the book, long after I was done reading; wondering about truth, innocence and mistakes, about how easy it is to be selfish, how no matter what people say, there is a big difference between good and bad, how you write your own destiny, about justice and the law and racism and for once, a female 'antagonist'.
But it was a close call. While I admire how the author somehow managed to wholly engross me in the story of such a horrible person, I'm not sure if I can sit patiently through another such read. One thing, however, is for sure, like it or not, Lay Death at her Door by Elizabeth Buhmann is a murder mystery like no other.
For years, Kate Cranbrook has lived with the secret that she lied at her own trial. She sent the wrong man to prison for something he didn't do. Deep inside, she knew she should have told someone. She should have said a word, but at the time, such a thing wasn't possible for her to do. When the would-be rapist is released from his incarceration, Kate soon realizes that the past has just come back to haunt her.
She told a needed lie to save herself, sent the wrong man to do time for a crime he did For years, Kate Cranbrook has lived with the secret that she lied at her own trial. She told a needed lie to save herself, sent the wrong man to do time for a crime he didn't commit, and has lived with the consequences of her actions ever since. She knows that the man is likely to come after her. After all, she has some explaining to do.
Deep inside, she prays that she'll never get to see his face. That he'll stay away, and never come to hash up the past.
Lay Death at Her Door
Though, she knows that's just wishful thinking. When a body practically shows up on her doorstep, Kate comes to the realization that someone definitely wants to stir up the hornet's nest. Whoever it is wants the secrets she's held on to for so long to come to light, something she knows she can't allow to happen. She's carefully constructed her life around her rape and the events of that night that led to Elliot's murder. If she's to continue living the way she is now, her secrets must remain dead and buried.
Unfortunately, time is running out.
Lay Death at Her Door - Elizabeth Buhmann - Google Книги
The killer is edging ever closer, intent on making her remember everything she pushed aside. If she's to succeed in thwarting his advances, she'll need to play his own sordid game. To do that, she'll need to delve into a past that just might prove to be her complete undoing. A dark and twisted tale, Lay Death At Her Door immerses the reader in the life of Kate Cranbrook and the consequences of her past actions.
She's a woman full of conflict, dealing with a past she can't let go. To save herself so long ago, she accused a man of rape, and sent him into the bowels of prison. Deep inside, she's never lived easily with that fact, and she'll never be able to until she comes to terms with what she's done.
Lay Death at Her Door: Free
The book itself tells the story in the form of a diary. A memoir, I suppose. Kate does her best to exonerate herself of what she's done, but nothing erases the stain that has been left on her very soul. She's done things she's not proud of, all in the name of survival. Elizabeth has done a good job in painting such a sordid story. We're able to feel Kate's pain through every page, and at times, she's quite unlikeable. It's hard not to feel for her plight. Though I have to admit it's not for everyone, this is a truly remarkable story.
One well worth reading. Jun 06, A Voracious Reader a. However, DNA evidence kept all these years has been tested with the new modern and sophisticated equipment and Jules Jefferson is exonerated. The lie that Kate told is coming back with a vengeance to roost on her doorstep. It was dark, she had been attacked, she was traumatized…she told the story so many times over the years that she had started to believe it.
Who is she protecting? This mystery grabbed me from the two word second paragraph. I have to tell you that Kate Cranbrook is a piece of work. And not a good one either. Why am I still here? The ending was the biggest mind fuck I never saw coming. Please see disclaimer page on my blog. Sep 02, Rick rated it it was amazing. I really enjoyed this story. The character of Kate was not one you could like. She was a compulsive liar. She has a lot of underlying jealous feelings as well. As the story progresses, we see all the intricate spider web of lies that Kate has formed over the year I really enjoyed this story.
As the story progresses, we see all the intricate spider web of lies that Kate has formed over the years start to fall apart. The more her lies and world crumbles, the more desperate she becomes to maintain control. This can often lead to tragic consequences. Reading through, one cannot determine when Kate is telling the truth and when she is lying.
Buhmann uses it to her advantage in telling this story. This helps to lend the air of mystery to the story. The supporting characters are well developed and their backgrounds play out through the narrative, particularly the Pops and Kate characters. There are twists and turns and surprises around ever corner, leading to a logical conclusion. I recommend this book for those who love mysteries or psychological dramas. I received an electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Kate Cranbrook was born, and ruined, in Kenya. When a coup threatened her safety with her father, she grabbed onto an inheritance in America and fled, at gunpoint. You see, Kate lies. There were points where I truly despised Kate. She does things that simply shocked me, to the core. And, always, there is - to her mind - a logical reason for her choices. As Kate Cranbrook was born, and ruined, in Kenya. As the novel progresses, one starts to disbelieve everything that Kate has said.
Her relationship with her father is increasingly disturbing. And it simply becomes impossible to believe that all of the bits and pieces will ever make sense. In an effort to avoid spoilers, all I can say is: Yes, it all comes together. This is a dark, and deeply disturbing story. As such, it takes some intestinal fortitude to get through to the end - I still feel as though I need a shower to wash Kate off. You'll not forget her, no matter how you try.
And, perhaps, that is the best recommendation I can offer. I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from the publisher [ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Jul 02, Al rated it it was amazing Shelves: I was beaten and raped. The ensuing trial dominated local headlines until my eyewitness testimony sent a man named Jules Jefferson to prison for life. But that same advice says the way you do that is with action or conflict of some kind. A well written, unpredictable story. May have received a free review copy.
Dec 08, Fran Macilvey rated it it was amazing. How lovely to find a book which is well written, engaging from the outset and well finished. How relaxing and peaceful to read a text without stopping to wonder at typos, flubs and the like, as there were none that I could see, and the writing flowed well.
How interesting to notice the development of the plot, and not to want to flick to the end to cheat, to see how it ended, but to be perfectly content to read every word and wait for the final twists to reveal themselves. Thank you, Elizabeth, for giving us a careful, thoughtful story in which you have clearly made a huge investment. The result is an excellent piece of fiction, educative, engrossing and delightful to read. Jul 13, Anachronist rated it really liked it. After being raped and witnessing the murder of her lover Kate Cranbrook, a year-old college girl, sent a man to prison.
She lied during the trial because it was the most convenient way out. She had to protect her secrets even if it meant committing perjury. She had learned during a difficult childhood in Kenya that sometimes you have to be mendacious and ruthless in order to survive and achieve your goals. Then, deeply traumatized, she lived in seclusion with her fathe Synopsis: Then, deeply traumatized, she lived in seclusion with her father for two decades, isolated, bored, afraid. Now she thinks she's had enough. She is 42 and she wants to put her life in order — keep her landscaping job, become more independent, find a nice man, marry, be happy.
She is also given a splendid occasion - new evidence exonerates her victim. Unfortunately it also means that her role in the trial is being examined anew Kate tries to think of a good defence line; she claims that in the darkness and confusion she must have mistaken her attacker's identity.
She is lying — again — but at least now she dares admit that truth to herself. Still the local community might never forgive her for putting an innocent man to prison for twenty years even if she is a white woman, he is a black man and they live in Virginia. Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in an invisible stand-off with the real killer.
What will it take to get rid of him? Soon enough another dead body practically shows up on her doorstep. Kate comes to the realization that someone definitely wants to stir up the hornet's nest and draw the attention of local police to her shadowy past. Will anybody be able to see through her lies and help her before it's too late? It was a story which grabs you with the first words and keeps you interested until you finishes it.
It is a dark and twisted tale which I loved exploring. It presents an interesting, intelligent heroine, flawed to a great extend, who likes toying with the reader but also honestly recalls her own past mistakes because she feels her time is running out.
Kate is a manipulative character, full of wit and ready to play on the sympathy of others. As the novel progresses, you starts to doubt her words but, at the same time, you are eager to find out the truth.
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The relationship with her father is increasingly disturbing and after a while, somewhere in the middle of the story, it simply becomes impossible to believe that all of the bits and pieces she told you will ever make sense. But they will, shockingly so, at the very end. The character of Kate was constructed flawlessly. Firstly let me say how much I enjoyed a woman who is beautiful, cunning, rich and guess what?
No love triangle, no love affair, nothing and not for the lack of trying, mind you. It was so refreshingly normal and right. Let me illustrate her situation with one quote. Kate comments bitterly on her friends' advice: You could have anyone you wanted. No matter how beautiful you are, how intelligent and talented, no matter how accomplished, even if you have money, it is never true that you can have anyone you want.
In books and movies, there is always a likely man for the taking. Although Kate tries her best to exonerate herself of what she's done, a completely understandable and a very human thing to do, nothing erases the stain that has been left on her - and she is completely aware of it. She used to be a thoughtless little brat who behaved as if she had every right to own the world.
She was selfish, ruthless and greedy. She lied a lot and she did it so skillfully that sometimes she almost believed in her own lies. Now she must reap what she has sown. It kept me awake late at night because I simply had to reach the final page and find out what role Kate played in all this. Thank you, Ms Buhman, for this great story! View all 4 comments. This would've quite easily made 5 stars were it not for some daft mistakes that I think were a bit sloppy.
I greatly enjoyed the whole story. It was something quite different to your run-of-the-mill murder-mystery for sure and held my interest. I despised Kate pretty much the whole way through. She's a real piece of work!! I've never had time for liars and she told some astounding porkies at times. However, she had a LOT of secrets and intrigue throughout her life as well and just didn't always This would've quite easily made 5 stars were it not for some daft mistakes that I think were a bit sloppy.
However, she had a LOT of secrets and intrigue throughout her life as well and just didn't always cover herself properly.