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    The Turnglass
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    The Turnglass
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    The Turnglass
    Ebook498 pages6 hours

    The Turnglass

    By Gareth Rubin

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    This beautifully written, immersive, and unique crime story is a tête-bêche novel. At the book’s core are two separate mysteries running across two different converging timelines, which are inextricably, forever linked.

    1880s, Essex, England: Idealistic young doctor Simeon Lee is called from London to treat his ailing relative Parson Oliver Hawes, who lives in Turnglass House on a bleak island off the coast. Hawes believes he's being poisoned by his sister-in-law, Florence, who was declared mad years ago after killing the parson’s brother in a jealous rage. Hawes keeps her locked in a glass-walled apartment in the Turnglass library; the secret to how she came to be there is found in his tête-bêche journal, where one side tells a very different story from the other.

    1930s, Hollywood: Celebrated author Oliver Tooke, the governor’s son, is found dead by apparent suicide. His aspiring actor friend Ken Kourian isn’t so sure Oliver took his own life. He finds a link between Oliver’s death and the mysterious kidnapping of Oliver’s brother when they were children. He also discovers the secret incarceration of Oliver’s mother, Florence, in an asylum. To get to the truth, Ken must decipher clues hidden in Oliver’s final book, a tête-bêche novel called The Turnglass—which is about a young doctor named Simeon Lee . . . 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUnion Square & Co.
    Release dateDec 3, 2024
    ISBN9781454955986
    Author

    Gareth Rubin

    Gareth Rubin is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Turnglass. His other books include Liberation Square, a thriller set in Soviet-occupied London, and The Winter Agent, a thriller set in Paris in 1944. He lives in London and writes about social affairs, travel and the arts for British newspapers.

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    Reviews for The Turnglass

    4/5

    13 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5

      Mar 11, 2025

      Basically an Ace Doubles of interlinked stories, and it's fine, quite clever, though I felt the mystery in the 1880s was more involved than that of the 1930s. If the 1880s story had been interwoven with the 1930s, I wonder if the effect would have been the same? Anyway, I suggest reading the 1880s story first as it gets referenced a lot in the 1930s story.
    • 4/5

      Dec 3, 2024

      Since I received an ARC copy, I can't fault the author for not being able to turn over the book. The idea is very entertaining though and more writers should take advantage of such a clever trick. I didn't mind the tonal difference between the two, in fact it takes admirable skill to "flip" the script like that. Yet both stories carry their themes successfully: a "malignant" house on the water, a murder, a hidden journal, forced imprisonment.. However, the first half was almost too good. It was a mystery that was so engrossing and atmospheric that it could've stood on its own. After so much build up I had become invested in the numerous characters and was left wanting more. The tell-all exposition/reveal at the end probably wouldn't have felt rushed if there wasn't a second half to get through.

      In the second half, the mention of polio, FDR, the Great War, and eugenics were all a little on the nose. Like the reader needed to be certain it was the 1930s. The governor of California even reminded me of old Joe Kennedy. But one can't deny the racism and homophobia of the era, and I appreciate Rubin for not glossing over it. But I wish Ken and Oliver had been childhood friends, or had a prior, perhaps implied, history. It took quite some time to solidify their newfound friendship before the mystery even got started. However I am definitely keeping an eye on Rubin and checking out any of their future works. Both Florences will be sticking with me!