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Elyse Friedman

Författare till Waking Beauty

7+ verk 159 medlemmar 9 recensioner

Verk av Elyse Friedman

Waking Beauty (2004) 65 exemplar
The Opportunist (2022) 37 exemplar
Then Again (1999) 24 exemplar
The Answer To Everything (2014) 21 exemplar
Know Your Monkey (2003) 2 exemplar
Dial Out/Dine in (1987) 1 exemplar

Associerade verk

Darwin's Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow (2010) — Bidragsgivare — 92 exemplar

Taggad

Allmänna fakta

Födelsedag
1963
Kön
female
Nationalitet
Canada (birth)
Bostadsorter
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Medlemmar

Recensioner

De opportunist. Door: Elyse Friedman.

Wow, wat een finale. Dat wil ik alvast gezegd hebben. Want plot driven boeken staan of vallen echt wel door een plottwist die je niet zag aankomen. Ze maken of kraken een boek. Ik zal geen namen noemen maar laatst las ik een boek (waarin nogal veel doden vielen, hint hint) dat door de finale plotwending plots een paar sterren verloor. Wat een sof, echt, ik ben er nog niet goed van. Het lezen van dat boek voelde zoals verspilde tijd.

En in De opportunist is dat helemaal het tegenovergestelde. Want eerlijk is eerlijk, ik zou dit boek nooit gelezen hebben als ik het niet had gekregen van Annelies (merci daarvoor!). De cover en de achterflap spraken me niet echt aan. Lezen over rijke witte cismannen die denken dat de wereld om hen draait (het ‘blauwe ballen-type’), laat maar. Dacht ik.

Friedman maakt er iets helemaal anders van. Waar het begint als een soort van getroebleerde familie epos verandert het stilaan in een spannende kat en muis-achtige thriller. Niemand is wie hij/zij lijkt te zijn. Je leest als een verslaafde en verwacht iets te zien aankomen maar dan volgt er iets anders en dan is daar die finale en spring je uit je stoel en begin je te juichen. Of toch bijna, ik zat in een drukke zomerbar, aan een klein tafeltje, dus hield het bij op en neer wippen op mijn stoel. Het zou zonde zijn als mijn rosé omkieperde hé ;)

De zomer loopt op zijn einde, hol naar de boekenwinkel voor De opportunist; deze rit wil je niet missen! Nog een reden om het boek te lezen: Netflix gaar het verfilmen, die hype wil je voor zijn!
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
Els04 | 4 andra recensioner | Aug 25, 2023 |
Framed as a young journalist’s attempt to tell the story of an unspecified traumatic event that had it all: “sex and drugs (not the regular kinds), multiple deaths (untimely, natch), rich folks and rituals and loads o’ lawsuits — even a celebrity cherry on top.” The central figures are a blissed-out busker named Eldrich, a university psychology student named Amy, and John, an artist with almost no scruples who initiates a relationship with Amy but soon realizes that Eldrich has more potential for transformation. With John as principle manipulator it isn’t long before Eldrich is presented as a New-Age guru whose following grows and grows. Even if it weren’t flagged on the opening page of the novel, it seems almost inevitable that this was always a disaster waiting to happen.

By rotating through the three principles’ points of view, Friedman gains breadth but loses depth. Even Amy, who probably ought to be the most relatable person, is opaque. And this creates a problem for what the story is ultimately about. It doesn’t seem to really be about these characters. Which makes it therefore seem to be primarily about the looming disaster. But that’s not really such an interesting subject.

Nevertheless, I’m sure Friedman had fun writing the acerbic John and the very odd Eldrich. And some of the minor characters, such as Phil, are endearing. You won’t find this to be the answer to everything, but it may help pass the time until the answer comes along.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
RandyMetcalfe | Jun 21, 2023 |
3.5 Stars.

May/December relationship between nurse and patient. Patient also happens to be a rich mogul with a long, troubled relationship with his children. Sons, Martin and Teddy, reach out to stepsister Alana, who has long ago distanced herself from the family, for help breaking up this relationship and keeping the family money where it belongs. Story pits siblings against each other with disturbing outcomes.

Far fetched..yes, predictable..yes, until the satisfying ending, which wasn’t what I expected! Well written, but was slow in some parts, drawn out in the beginning until secrets are slowly revealed. Trigger warning: child porn. Characters aren’t very likable, but definitely add to the story.

Thanks to Ms. Friedman, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.
… (mer)
½
 
Flaggad
LoriKBoyd | 4 andra recensioner | Jan 4, 2023 |
In Elyse Friedman's twisty novel, The Opportunist, Alana is a single mom raising her young daughter who has a type of muscular dystrophy. She is estranged from her family- her wealthy industrialist father Ed and brothers Martin and Teddy, who work for the family business. She was very close to her sister Lillian who died years ago.

She receives a call from her brothers asking her to come home to stop their father's wedding to his 28 year-old nurse Kelly. The brothers are convinced that Kelly is a golddigger who will end up with all their father's billions and they will be cut out.

Alana could care less about who her father marries, but her brothers offer her a lot of money to help them expose Kelly, and Alana, who works at a domestic violence shelter, could use that money to make her daughter's life easier.

Reluctantly she agrees, and off she goes to the wedding. She meets Kelly and sees that Kelly appears to be very devoted to Ed. An attempt by the brothers to pay off Kelly backfires, and although Alana believes that Kelly loves her father, Alana needs the money for her daughter and continues to help her brothers.

There are so many twists and turns in the plot, and trying to figure out who is playing whom will keep the reader turning the pages. I liked reading about Alana's life with her daughter and the ostentatious displays of the obscenely wealthy family's lifestyle (especially the scenes set on the super yacht) are crazy. It is no wonder that Elyse Friedman is a screenwriter, her novel would make an intriguing movie.

There is a big reveal late in the book that I didn't particularly like, but the final twist did take me by surprise which I do like when reading a psychological suspense novel. Exactly who is the opportunist in this story? If you are a fan of HBO's Succession or books by B.A. Paris or Lisa Unger, Elyse Friedman's The Opportunist is for you.

Thanks to Harlequin Books fro putting me on their Fall 2022 Mystery & Thriller Blog Tours.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
bookchickdi | 4 andra recensioner | Dec 11, 2022 |

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Statistik

Verk
7
Även av
1
Medlemmar
159
Popularitet
#132,375
Betyg
½ 3.5
Recensioner
9
ISBN
22
Språk
1

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