Three Things About Elsie

Started out being a good story. It flowed well and kept the interest going with many characters whose lives appear to intertwine. I can see an effort to write a novel in the manner of Charles Dickens, but Joanna Cannon is not Charles Dickens and doesn't come close! The ending left a lot to be desired. There was no clear cut explanation. It took some thought to work out what the third thing was about Elsie, and even then, there are a few possibilities. Various other threads appeared to be left dangling, however, almost all the answers are in the book, but the clues are very subtle and may require going back and flicking through. There is one question left unanswered though. Who was Albert? What happened to him and why was he mentioned? I did not enjoy this book and would not recommend it to anyone!

When I bought this book, I thought it would be a fun, light-weight read. Well, it WAS fun, and it seemed light-weight at times, but it really was nothing at all like I thought it would be. It was AMAZING!! It captivated my attention from start to finish and it ended with a shocker like I've never experienced before. WOW! You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was completely "gob-smacked" as the Brits would say. I'm still thinking about it today and I'm just as blown away as I was when I finished it. Such an incredibly brilliant twist! Three Things about Elsie was thoroughly entertaining, well-written, had really excellent character development (and there were several characters), and the amazing "never saw it coming" twist at the end ... This may go down as one of the best books I've read in quite a long time. Wow, wow, wow. Bravo Dr. Cannon!!

I could not get into the story and gave up after the first five chapters. The pace was too slow for me.