Guilt by Emma Kaufmann    Books by Emma Kaufmann · Lawless Games · Lured by Lust                 >> View all Read Free Preview!
Category:	Mystery/Suspense	Publisher:	Booklocker	ISBN-10:	1591130808	Type:
Pages:	252	Copyright:	Apr 20 2002			Fiction

Bridget Jones meets Agatha Christie - a whodunnit for the 21st century Buy your copy! Amazon Barnes & Noble.com Buy GUILT here Psychological suspense tracing the lives of Gilda and Clive, dysfunctional products of a twisted upbringing. As they try and extricate themselves from their gothic past, someone will have to be sacrificed. Clive’s analyst, Dr. Gerber, watches coolly as the drama unfolds. To him, the players are dehumanized, merely case studies in psychopathology. Will Dr. Gerber be able to stop the process from reaching its deadly conclusion? Or is it already too late?

Paperback

A Guilty Pleasure
Reviewed by Pamela White, Inscriptions Magazine

Rating: Four Stars

From the opening paragraph, Emma Kaufmann's "Guilt" pulls the reader into a web of hurt, lies, deceit and betrayal as Dora Johnson, daughter of renowned self-help author Gilda Johnson, begins an affair with her mother's lover, Niko Falk.

It doesn't stop there. Dan, Niko's son, is in love with Dora. Characters are introduced into the circle. Clive Lawrence, a man of questionable stability, and his young girlfriend, Tania Ashurt, share art interests with Niko and Dora. Clive is also the step-brother of Gilda, both raised by a controlling witch of a mother. Tania, growing tired of Clive, has designs on Dan. Illegitimate children, jealousy, depression and murder plots in generous portions are mixed in.

Don't let the large cast and convoluted happenings keep you away from this book. Dr. Gerber, psychoanalyst to two of the characters and television host who interviews a third person in the story, notes his increasing discomfort at being too closely connected with the intertwined personalities. The reader will have no such regrets, for it's the intimate knowledge of these lives that makes the novel such fun.

Tensions build as the lives of the characters weave in and out. The danger of such intimacy is palpable; at least one character is on the verge of madness and mayhem.

The last half of the novel cannot be put down until the stunning epilogue closes the tale.

Thanks to the plotting by Kaufmann, the reader enjoys a fast trip through the London art scene and beyond to the shore where the pace, if not the level of guilt, is reduced. Hold on tight and you won't be left behind.

At times both sexy and suspenseful, this novel presents a world of believable characters, some we wish we knew, others we are relieved not to. Kaufmann's novel "Guilt" is indeed a guilty pleasure to read: part soap opera, part heart-pounding cliffhanger.



Much more than froth
Reviewed by Molly Martin, Word Weaving Reviews

In her work Guilt Emma Kaufmann has produced a slice of life type drama filled with absorbing situations, entertaining characters and engaging life experience.

The angst Dora feels in her relationship with her mother is one many of us understand completely. The awful little family secret theme is one most of us have experienced to one extent or another. The reader is drawn into the tale from the outset when Dora seduces Mom's friend. It is only later that we realize how significant this action has been.

Kaufmann presents her characters as well developed humans full of life, angst, desire for happiness and many of the same frailties and warts as beset us all.

Guilt holds the reader's attention with Kaufmann's well honed attention to detail. Kaufmann paints a tapestry of sights, sounds, scents and feelings as the reader is moved along to the inevitable conclusion.

Not for everyone. Those who are looking for a breezy little bit of froth will not enjoy this thought provoking work. Good read for those who like a bit of intrigue and deeper meaning in their reading.



A Must Read
Reviewed by Conny Bryceland for Scribesworld

This book kept my attention more than many I have read this year, and I read upwards of two hundred books over the course of a year. I am also a writer so I am fairly choosy about what I read for pleasure. “Guilt” is a book I most certainly would have wanted to read, even if I was not assigned to review it.

Set primarily in London, the suspenseful story revolves around an odd group of friends and relations. Dora is the daughter of Gilda, a famous self-help author. Both Dora and Gilda carry on with Niko. Niko’s son Dan is fair game for Dora as well, and Clive, Gilda’s brother, is obsessed with Tania, who becomes interested in Dan. This is not really all as confusing as it sounds, as the author does a very good job of putting all of the players in place and allowing their actions to make some sort of twisted sense. Several of the characters visit Dr. Gerber, a somewhat unethical shrink.

None of the characters is exactly what one would call sane and well adjusted, making for an entertaining tale of lust, greed and vindictiveness. I recommend “Guilt” to any fan of suspense writing and look forward to reading other novels from this author.