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    The Poison Tree
    The Poison Tree
    The Poison Tree
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Poison Tree

    Written by Erin Kelly

    Narrated by Jennifer Ikeda

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Successful journalist Erin Kelly has electrified readers and critics alike with her debut novel The Poison Tree. In this scintillating work, Karen and her daughter Alice have established a safe, happy life free from the madness of Karen's past. But when Karen's former lover Rex is released from prison, her old associations intrude upon the present-and threaten everything she holds dear.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 14, 2011
    ISBN9781461849711
    The Poison Tree
    Author

    Erin Kelly

    ERIN KELLY is the Sunday Times bestselling author of He Said/She Said, The Poison Tree and several other standalone psychological thrillers. She also wrote the novelization of the award-winning TV show Broadchurch. Her work has been critically acclaimed and translated into thirty one languages. Erin also works as a freelance journalist and creative writing tutor. She lives in London with her family.

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    Reviews for The Poison Tree

    4/5

    23 ratings22 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Ahhh... the glorious days of youth.Or, maybe not...It is a very detailed book, with a lot of time invested in a collection of oddball characters, most of which are completely irrelevant to the story. From the start of the book, the reader knows something bad happened, and is left throughout most of the book reading hazy references to how bad this thing is, and how much it affected the main character's life, etc. I personally prefer when authors build suspense through plot, rather than by telling us something happened, but not exactly what it was that happened.When the "bad thing" is finally identified (very close to the end of the story), it occurs, and is wrapped up, very quickly. Too quickly compared to the long long buildup to get to this point. It's like knowing you have a grand surprise birthday party next week so you get all excited for it, but when the date arrives, they're taking you bowling.I will say, however, that there is an excellent twist/surprise in the story. It caught me off-guard and bumped the entire story up a star because it was an excellent way to end a book that seemed to get caught up a bit too much in the minutiae.
    • 5/5
      I picked this book up off of the new books shelf at the library, having never heard anything about it, expecting a simple thriller. What I found, to my pleasant surprise, was so much more. It's truly a novel of psychological suspense, but it's also a story about coming of age, the families we make, and the regrets we live with. The melancholy harshness of it reminded me a little bit of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which is one of my favorite novels of all time. I won't say too much more without giving away the plot, but I highly recommend this little novel and cannot wait to see what Kelly writes next. Four and a half stars.
    • 4/5
      In her first novel, Erin Kelly does an excellent job of maintaining the chill factor while remembering the halcyon days of a special summer. She goes back and forward over a ten-year span with ease. This enthralling tale is a real page-turner with well-developed characters and a surprise conclusion. Kelly is an author to watch for.
    • 4/5
      This is a first novel for Erin Kelly. I can only imagine what her second novel will be like. I am sure it will be another hit.This is story of a young college woman wondering if she will ever experience a “magical summer”, that her mother assures will happen before she starts her “life”. Will this be the “one?” While in college she meets Biba, who needs help with her German, for a future role in a play that she is in. Karen had mastered four languages by her 16th birthday without much effort. Bibi soon befriends Karen and suggests that Karen come and live with her and her brother, Rex, in their run down mansion owned by their father.The people living in the mansion live a carefree life and seeming to not have a care in the world. Wasting their days on parties and fun. Karen’s relationship with Biba and Rex grow. She thinks of them as her family. The story spans 10 years from the time of this memorable summer to the present when her daughter is now 10 years old and Rex has just come back from being in prison for 10 years.Throughout the story, you are aware of secrets. The reader does not know what the secrets are. This part of the story can drive you crazy. It keeps you wondering and guessing what these secrets may be. It certainly makes you want to finish the book. Nearing the end, I really had a hard time putting the book down. I wanted to know what the secret was.That summer was certain to be the “magical summer” for Karen.I loved the way Erin Kelly describes the surroundings, the characters, the time, the feel of the moment, the graceful way she went from past to present and the surprise ending. I am going to keep my eyes open for more of Erin Kelly.
    • 4/5
      This book kept me mildly entertained and went at a decent pace, though I felt like it was missing something. If not for a good ending, I would've rated it a 3/5 rather than 4/5. I felt that it took too long to get to a point, and I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. This is one that had potential but went nowhere; I was hoping for more.
    • 5/5
      Review based on Advance Reading ProofA wonderfully well-written, psychological thriller debut, one that just cries out to be read and discussed. A perfect choice for a book club. Although I found it a bit disconcerting with early chapters switching between then and now, it is really just an essential hiccup in the storyline. This ploy simply increases the building suspense as the story unfolds. Watch out for author Erin Kelly, she has thrown down the gauntlet and intends to stay around for a long time!An unusual storyline from the voice of the protagonist, Karen Clarke, the characters with their many differences are well-drawn and continue to grow throughout the book. Take a young normal girl who just happens to be fluent in several languages and throw her suddenly into a completely different society and what is she to do? Her meeting with Biba opens a whole new world to her, one she is not only introduced to, but embraces wholeheartedly. In 1990s London, the beautiful and vivacious Biba lives her life fully and dramatically, essentially the actress she wants to be. When she meets Karen, the straight-A student of linguistics, she brings her to her home, a very run-down yet exotic house of many characters, some of whom live there with Biba and her brother Rex. Soon Karen is a constant visitor.The book begins near the end, then switches back to this carefree and exciting life, time and time again. We learn of old secrets that have a distinct effect on the brother and sister, and later newer secrets come between them. Karen can not tell her story alone without telling the story of Rex and Biba. Their lives and stories are tangled as one. These three are the main characters, but there are more roles to be played by lesser players. Still, they are all bigger than life and all play their parts boldly. The story unfolds between this wild beginning, fraught with suspense and lies, racing toward an unknown and unexpected tragedy. Clues and portents are sprinkled between these carefree days of one summer, building and building to an excruciating level. Murder, prison, life, loss, all wrapped up in one great read. Descriptive, alluring, and definitely atmospheric, characteristics run the gamut from innocence and trust to parties, drugs, drama, sex and lies. This is not a book one can easily review without spoilers, mostly because of the way the book is written with all its portents. That said, the ending is shocking and yet feels right. Once read, the reader will understand what I mean, but earlier in the book he/she may not. This is an exceptional start to what I believe to be a long run for this author.
    • 4/5
      Just as her final year of college is ending, straight-laced Karen meets the charismatic Biba. Karen is enchanted, and the feeling seems to be mutual, as Biba invites Karen to a party at her house that evening. And what a house it is! 21-year-old Biba lives there with her slightly older brother Rex, and a moving feast of friends. In alternating chapters we are back with the young people during their idyllic summer, and with Karen in the present day, as she brings Rex home from serving his prison sentence. Kelly is a master at foreshadowing. From the first chapter we know that Karen has a secret. We know that something--or perhaps several things--terrible has happened. The story is released bit by bit, until it all comes together at the end. A wonderful example of psychological fiction, this one keeps the reader on the edge of his seat, wondering what on earth we will learn next!!
    • 3/5
      I read this book last month and I'm only now getting around to writing a review for it because I have no idea what to say about it. I really enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down. The characters were interesting, the plot was great and so was the writing.I would love to re-read it, but probably not for a year or two.
    • 5/5
      I received this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. This book jumps between the past and the present but is told from the perspective of Karen. Karen is currently the mother of Alice and is anxiously awaiting the return of her boyfriend Rex, who is serving time in jail for murder. It is not explained who Rex killed or why he did so. In the past Karen is a soon-to-be college graduate who has never really lived on the edge. She has travelled and studied but she has never done anything against the rules. She then meets Biba and Rex and is drawn into a summer of partying and sex. I have to say I was instantly drawn into Karen's world. I wanted to know more about her and I couldn't stop reading to find out more. As you read further there are several mysteries. Not only are you wondering who Rex ended up killing but you also want to know more about Biba and Rex's family life. I don't want to give away any spoilers but you will be blown away by the ending; the twists just keep on coming. Throughout the entire novel there is quite a bit of foreshadowing so you know the novel won't end in the way you think it will but I never really guessed what did happen in the end. I wasn't sure what to think when I was done reading. The entire time I had felt one way about a character and then at the end I started to rethink the way I felt about that character. I won't tell you who or why but this will become apparent once you read the novel. I found myself really frustrated wth Biba from the very beginning. Even when we first meet her I can tell that she is a destructive force and while this may be alluring it is only fun for a short time. This may be the reason many people live with Biba and Rex for short periods of time and then leave. To be honest Biba reminded me of someone I used to know and be friends with. Needless to say I am no longer friends with them because I found it all to be too much. Anyhow, overall I give this book 5 out of 5 and highly suggest you read this book.
    • 3/5
      This was a really odd book, whilst it was compelling once you got into it, it was far from a satisfying read. I don't handle injustice well and like people who use others even less. This maybe coloured my judgement of the book; I like to warm to characters. The last twist came as a bit of a surprise, but was unrealistic given the peronalities involved. 2.5 stars
    • 4/5
      SPOILER possibility...proceed with caution...

      I enjoyed this, and will certainly look for others by this author. As well as a story that carries you along, the writing is generously peppered with interesting observations and compelling description.

      I've read other reviewer which comparing it to The Secret History, yet feeling let down when it fails to measure up as a campus novel. Not too sure where this could have arisen from, but it feels a bit unfair to me. I saw no signs that the author was attempting to retrace Donna Tartt's steps. This felt much more Barbara Vine to me, which is also excellent company to be in. The fact that the central characters happen to be students when the back-story begins is neither here nor there. They could just have easily been working in offices and/or theatres and events could have unfolded in much the same way.

      So if you're after a campus novel, then this really isn't it. But if, like me, you've a soft spot for novels which are more squarely in that Vinesque territory, where a character with a secret past tries to gain greater insight into her role in terrible events from many years ago, and the way in which these events are suddenly a new threat to the life she's built from the ashes, then the Poison Tree does what it says on the tin.

      There is also an ITV version, which, while also interesting in many ways, did not, in my view, really capture the most interesting elements of this novel. I had bought the book before seeing the TV version, so I then read it to compare the two. But if I hadn't already bought the book before seeing the TV version, I wouldn't have bothered, and this would have been a shame. The telly version stuck to the plot, and certainly tightened elements of it to make it into a far greater tragedy, yet simply did not have the time/space to fully mine the richness of the tragic love triangle(s) present in the novel.

      However, there were things I personally found preposterous in the telly version (to give one example, without wishing to add spoilers, I will just say the NHS was actually already heavily computerised by '97). I was delighted to see that convincing groundwork had indeed been laid for these problems in the novel, and so they needn't have been in the TV version at all, had it not been for the need to fit something slightly more complex around ad breaks.

    • 5/5
      It is the sweltering summer of 1997, and Karen is a strait-laced, straight-A university student. When she meets the impossibly glamorous Biba, a bohemian orphan who lives in a crumbling old mansion in Highgate with her enigmatic brother Rex, she is soon drawn into their world -- but something terrible is about to happen, and someone's going to end up dead.My Thoughts:When I saw that ITV have done a drama on this book I had to go to my local library and pick up a copy. I am so glad that I did. This book is a super read. Not only has it got a good story but it is full of suspense. You know from the description that two people will die, but which two ? The suspense continues right through the book till the very end and I just couldn’t put this book down.I would highly recommend this book as it really is a page turner and a gripping thriller.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a bit of a slow-burner at times, but never dull and I found myself pulled towards the ending, with a need to find out the conclusion of the story. It's a fairly formulaic story, which has been done before. I've read at least two very similar books about students going off the rails when they meet somebody unusual and bohemian. However, this is a very well-written book, with excellent characterisations, and a couple of really nice twists at the end, which make it a bit different from the norm. I think Erin Kelly has a very promising career as a novelist ahead of her, based on this book.
    • 4/5
      Wow. That was the thought I was stuck with for days after finishing this book. It was amazing. When the author contacted me on twitter, I told her I wish that I was Karen and Biba’s friend. She said let me know if I felt that way on the last page. ;)There were so many twists and turns in this book, that I was surprised. I did guess a couple, but there were so many more that I completely missed. As a girl that likes to read this type of book, I think of myself as usually pretty good at sussing out the end ahead of time, but this one got me.I like the format of where it jumps from time and place through the life of the main character (Karen). It was a little difficult at times to follow the transitions, as the only clues were name changes, but that could have been the formatting of the copy I had.The characters are wonderful. Biba is as wild and dramatic and carefree as Karen is studious, responsible and down to earth. Fun seems to ensue following these two through the book, and I often wanted to join them. Rex, Biba’s brother, was not a character I enjoyed as much. I found him a little dry, and did always appreciate the way he reacted to situations, but that could be because he is the type of person that wouldn’t be my cup of tea in real life either. I loved the minor characters that popped in and out, and found they added depth, extra personality and humor, and sometimes needed lightness to the story.The setting is beautiful, and I could see it as if I was there. It was the type of descriptive writing that could only come from someone who had spent a great deal of time in a place. I could see it, hear it, smell it, but most importantly, wanted to visit it.I also can relate to the feeling she describes, of wandering into somewhere different, and knowing that is where you want to be. Have you ever gone to someone’s home for the evening, or the weekend, and it so fun/ cozy/ welcoming/ comfortable/ different then your own, that you want to curl up and not leave. Kinda like being at home and escaping, all at the same time? She captures this beautifully.I have a feeling this one is going to stay with me for a long time to come. It was a very enjoyable ride. =D
    • 2/5
      Dull would-be psychological thriller peopled with unpleasant characters and improbable situations. Would like to be 'The Secret History', but isn’t.
    • 5/5
      About the book: Karen was just an unassuming straight-A student in linguistics when she met Biba. She was finishing her senior year, and though she had the same roommates through college, she didn't feel like they were really friends. Meeting Biba seemed to be fate, as Biba was posting an ad for a German tutor when Karen happened to come upon her. She was immediately entranced. Biba hired her and invited her to a party at her house.Biba was an aspiring actress and lived a carefree life with her brother, Rex, in a rundown house in Highgate. The house had had a variety of tenants and Karen was soon to become it's latest. Their lifestyle was so foreign to the one that Karen knew that she couldn't help but embrace it in her desire to belong. She had never had a friend like Biba and felt alive in her presence. Her dad had told her she needed at leasst one summer to not work and enjoy herself before she started her "life". Little did she know that this last summer would effect her life and her choices in ways that she never could have dreamed.The story starts out with Karen picking up Rex as he is released from prison. They are going to try to make a go of it with their 9 year old daughter Alice. Secrets and choices are immediately alluded to as Karen tries to protect Alice from the secrets that sent Rex to prison as well as one secret that only Karen seems to know.We learn all about Karen, Rex and Biba through flashbacks that take you through the last summer they were all together. That carefree summer living in Highgate. Karen learns that Rex and Biba have had a troubled childhood marked with suicide and abandonment. The two of them are very close and Rex protects his sister with a fierceness that rivals a mama bear. Somewhere along the way, with the beer and drugs and sex, Karen and Rex fall into an unlikely relationship. Some rash decisions made by all change all their lives.My thoughts: This book was a wonderful debut by Erin Kelly. The flashbacks unfold with just the right speed and the groundwork is laid out for a surprising ending that I didn't see coming. The London setting and surrounding areas are perfect and the author does a good job of making you feel like you are there (not that I have ever been - but it is definitely as I imagined it). She weaves the story around these three to the point where one is inseparable from the other. Every choice and decision that was made lead to the inevitable conclusion. Great story! Highly recommended!
    • 2/5
      I thought I had already reviewed this book but when I look on the list my review doesn't seem to be here, which is mysterious, so I will try and remember what I thought about the book and write something briefly here. I really didn't care for this first novel. In the beginning the plot was suspenseful and interesting but as the story progessed I really started to dislike the characters, particularly the main femalecharacter who I found to be very manipulative and completely unbelievable. So much of the novel revolves around her actions, especially what occurs in the end, that I found it very difficult to accept. The novel is partially about the obsessive love the narrator has for this principle female character and I didn't feel I could sympathize with her. This is a portrait of a very dysfunctional family and they didn't garner any of my sympathy. I just remember the book leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I have heard that a lot of people like this book which surprises me. I also didn't care for the main character's brother Rex, and in the scenes that take place in the present he never seems to blame his crazy sister for the terrible things that have befallen him. All of the characters are so passive with what happens to them. I don't think I will read any other works by this author. Stories of obsession usuallly turn me away.
    • 4/5
      This book was interesting to me since the story was told from the heroine's perspective and jumped from past to present every chapter. That way you were always learning little bits of the back story as the current story was progressing. I will say that it took me about 50-60 pages to really get into the book but once I did I didn't want to stop reading.Karen meets Biba and her brother Rex the summer after she finishes her undergraduate degree and moves into their home for the summer of "experiences." You see, Karen has always been responsible and has forgone fun and adolescent craziness. This is her time to let her hair down and it is all because she met free-spirit Biba. During the summer, Karen and Rex become lovers and everything is perfect until that fateful night when Karen's world in turned upside down and Rex is convicted of murder. The cuurent story line shows Rex and Karen trying to reconnect after Rex is released from prison and Rex trying to forge a new life released from his painful past.I would definitely recommend this book to others and found it very enjoyable and mysterious.
    • 3/5
      This was just OK. I wasn't crazy about the ending.
    • 4/5
      This book is told in alternating time periods by Karen, who ten years earlier had met a charasmatic young wanna-be actress named Biba at her college. Karen and Biba become fast friends, and she also meets Biba's older, strange brother Rex. The book jumps back and forth between the present time and that one summer that changed all of their lives. I really, really enjoyed this book. I thought I had it all figured it out but surprise! I was wrong again lol. It gets your attention from the first page and keeps you interested the entire time. I hated having to put it down even to sleep. I just HAD to know what happened. I will definitely watch for more books by this author. That being said, the only issue I had with this book, and it was a minor issue, was a little too much detail. Sometimes I felt like a little too much time was spent on setting up the scenery instead of getting on with the story. But I think after the second or third chapter the author got the hang of it and stopped doing that so much. I definitely recommend this book to any book lover!
    • 4/5
      I am someone who loves when I am gripped by the first page and let know by the author that something bad is coming at some point in the book. It has to be done carefully or it can ruin the whole story. Stephanie Meyer did it well in the Twilight series and Erin Kelly does it well in The Poison Tree. Another weakness of mine in books are quirky characters, sometimes so much more real than so-called normal ones.Overall it's a wonderful first novel and please keep writing, Ms. Kelly!
    • 4/5
      This was a very enjoyable read ....fairly easy going, but a little predictable. The plot centres around a group of people during one very hot summer in the nineties. Squatting in a once very upmarket house owned by their parents, before their Mother's suicide, Biba and Rex lead a bohemian and, some would say, reckless lifestyle. Our main character, Karen, a gifted multi linguist, meets Biba by chance at college and offers to assist her with learning German for a role in a forthcoming play. Karen ends up totally swept awaywith and captivated by Biba and her brother and subsequently moves in to their house. Crazy, thoughtless and drug fuelled parties abound and things end in a terrible tragedy.The novel flits between that summer and the present day when one of the siblings is just being released from prison and Karen is the mother of 10 year old Alice.Altogether an easy paced book. Not an original plot, but well handled and written with imagination and good character development. One to pack in your suitcase!