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Final Witness aka The Stepmother (2002)

di Simon Tolkien

UtentiRecensioniPopolaritàMedia votiCitazioni
2337115,349 (3.65)15
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:The grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien makes a thrilling debut as a novelist in this suspenseful courtroom drama that will have you guessing to the very end.
??Don??t let the author??s last name confuse you, for there are no Hobbits in this debut novel by the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, only a wonderful story of family, relationships, and suspense. . . . Part English cozy, part family saga, part courtroom drama, this genre-bending work of fiction is touching and enchanting.? ??Booklist (starred review)
??The book is fast-paced and crisply plotted, with Tolkien elegantly piecing together the different perspectives and introducing unexpected twists.? ??Publishers Weekly

??Tolkien??s skill as a storyteller is worthy of notice in this taut, well-paced legal thriller. The excellent courtroom drama and well-drawn, believable characters make this a good choice. . . . With an easily recognizable surname, a formidable Oxford education, and a successful career as a London barrister, the grandson of the author of The Lord of the Rings is bound to create a stir with this debut novel.? ??Library Journal
One summer night, two men break into an isolated manor house and kill Lady Anne Robinson. Her son, Thomas, convinces the police that his father??s beautiful personal assistant sent the killers, but Thomas is known for his overactive imagination, and he has reasons to lie.
Thomas??s father, Sir Peter Robinson, the British minister of defense, refuses to believe his son. Instead, he marries his assistant, Greta Grahame, and will be giving evidence for the defense at her trial. He will be the final witness.
Author Simon Tolkien successfully combines legal suspense and psychological tension in this sharply etched portrait of four people whose lives are changed by a murder. Alternating between the trial in London??s Central Criminal Court and private moments among the characters, Tolkien expertly describes the art of the trial, the clash between Britain??s social classes, and, most notably, the complexity of family relations.
Who is telling the truth??the new wife or the bereaved son? What will Sir Peter tell the court? With tantalizing ambiguity, Tolkien keeps readers guessing about the true motiv
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From Amazon:

One summer night, two men break into an isolated manor house and kill Lady Anne Robinson. Her teenage son, Thomas, convinces the police that Greta Grahame, his father’s beautiful personal assistant, sent the killers, but Thomas is known for his overactive imagination, and he has reasons to lie. Thomas’s father, Sir Peter Robinson, the British minister of defense, refuses to believe his son. Instead, he marries Greta and is prepared to testify for the defense at her trial. He will be the final witness. Who is telling the truth–the new wife or the bereaved son? What will Sir Peter reveal in court?

My Thoughts:

Most mysteries are written from the point of view of the detective or other person investigating a crime, usually murder. The reader guesses who did it by process of elimination, although many authors put a good twist at the end. This book is written from the different points of view of all the characters, each of whom is trying to put himself in the best possible light. It's a lot trickier to figure out who is guilty, who is innocent, who is lying, who is mentally unbalanced. The suspense builds up with the minutes counting down to the final witness, after whose testimony no new evidence can be introduced. The lawyers and police are in the background. The case centers on the family members, who are not exactly likable people. The story begins with a terrifying incident and builds to a frightening climax. I think Mr. Tolkien...who, by the way is the grandson of legendary J.R.R. Tolkien, has done an excellent job with this first novel and I will look for more. ( )
  Carol420 | May 31, 2016 |
A legal thriller by the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien. Lots of drama and excitement! ( )
  Oodles | Feb 16, 2016 |
Starting with fairytales, from the youngest ages chldren do almost not hear anything nice about stepmothers.
At first, I did not get the title: in the beginning of the book Thomas was still living with both his parents. Nevertheless I liked the book, very much so, because of the shifting perspectives. So I decided to read on.
I found the long elaborations about the sittings in court quite boring, but otherwise it was a good book. Instinctively I liked Thomas, but during the course of the story my loyalties did fluctuate with the twists and turns of the plot. ( )
  BoekenTrol71 | Apr 16, 2014 |
This is a well written book, I enjoyed reading it. Interesting story until the end.
Even when they were no Hobbits around :-) ( )
  brigitte64 | Apr 6, 2010 |
I picked this book up for the reason, I believe, most people would. Simon Tolkien's grandfather is JRR Tolkien of the Lord of the Rings fame. Couple that with the fact that murder mystery is my favourite genre, and this book was a must pickup by me.

In the book, Lady Robinson is murdered by two men who break into her house, The house of the four winds, while her son hiding views it all. Through the evidence supplied through Thomas, the son, Greta Grahame his step mother is indicted on the crime. However to many, including his dad, Thomas's evidence seems fabricated to get back at Greta Grahame. This leads the book to it's main premise the courtcase of Greta Grahame. While this is going on, we cut to narratives of different people around the event, building up a linear story of what went on.

I wasn't expecting this book to be as good as it was. It really drew me in, and I found it really hard to put it down. The pace of this book is brilliant, and Tolkien keeps you second guessing yourself on who to believe. All in all a brilliant piece of narrative. I will be picking up anything more Simon Tolkien releases. ( )
  JohnstonDJ | Jan 17, 2008 |
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Dieses Buch ist meiner Frau Tracy gewidmet. Ohne sie hätte es nicht geschrieben werden können.
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Mein Name ist Thomas Robinson.
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Published as Final Witness in USA and The Stepmother in UK
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Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:The grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien makes a thrilling debut as a novelist in this suspenseful courtroom drama that will have you guessing to the very end.
??Don??t let the author??s last name confuse you, for there are no Hobbits in this debut novel by the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, only a wonderful story of family, relationships, and suspense. . . . Part English cozy, part family saga, part courtroom drama, this genre-bending work of fiction is touching and enchanting.? ??Booklist (starred review)
??The book is fast-paced and crisply plotted, with Tolkien elegantly piecing together the different perspectives and introducing unexpected twists.? ??Publishers Weekly

??Tolkien??s skill as a storyteller is worthy of notice in this taut, well-paced legal thriller. The excellent courtroom drama and well-drawn, believable characters make this a good choice. . . . With an easily recognizable surname, a formidable Oxford education, and a successful career as a London barrister, the grandson of the author of The Lord of the Rings is bound to create a stir with this debut novel.? ??Library Journal
One summer night, two men break into an isolated manor house and kill Lady Anne Robinson. Her son, Thomas, convinces the police that his father??s beautiful personal assistant sent the killers, but Thomas is known for his overactive imagination, and he has reasons to lie.
Thomas??s father, Sir Peter Robinson, the British minister of defense, refuses to believe his son. Instead, he marries his assistant, Greta Grahame, and will be giving evidence for the defense at her trial. He will be the final witness.
Author Simon Tolkien successfully combines legal suspense and psychological tension in this sharply etched portrait of four people whose lives are changed by a murder. Alternating between the trial in London??s Central Criminal Court and private moments among the characters, Tolkien expertly describes the art of the trial, the clash between Britain??s social classes, and, most notably, the complexity of family relations.
Who is telling the truth??the new wife or the bereaved son? What will Sir Peter tell the court? With tantalizing ambiguity, Tolkien keeps readers guessing about the true motiv

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