"Tigers in Red Weather" by Liza Klaussmann / Wednesday, August 15, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

“Tigers in Red Weather” by Liza Klaussmann

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

Five people don’t always see things the same, especially when some are concealing secrets. That’s the case in the Liza Klaussmann’s soap opera-like (meant as a compliment) debut novel “Tigers in Red Weather” in which a murder on 1950s Martha’s vineyard disrupts the family’s life. Klaussmann does a good job managing the five different points-of-view until the truth finally does come out in the end. The story is well-plotted and suspenseful with particularly strong dialogue. Incidentally, for those who like a little backstory with his/her reading, author Liza Klaussmann is the great-great-great-granddaughter of one of my favorite authors Herman Melville.

From Amazon:

“Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha’s Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their ‘real lives’: Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.

Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena’s husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena–with their children, Daisy and Ed–try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.

Brilliantly told from five points of view, with a magical elegance and suspenseful dark longing, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut novel from a writer of extraordinary insight and accomplishment.”

(A) smart, unsettling debut… Klaussmann’s pitch-perfect portrait of the Derringer marriage gives the novel a strong emotional charge. Their complicated, painfully loving relationship and their mutual tenderness for fresh-faced Daisy ring true….stinging dialogue and sharp insights offer strong foundations on which this novice author can build. – Kirkus Reviews

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Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville