Total Eclipse

by Liz Rigbey

An astronomer turns his intellect towards solving a double murder to clear the name and save the life of the woman he loves.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[La Reyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It surprises me a lot that this book was never made into a film (As far as I know). It has certain things that would have made a very gripping cinematic experience.

Funny that I always think that about this story. They say that it's often mediocre books that make a good film. (This book's far better than that) It's also quite a chunky book. (Doesn't obviously lend itself to a film script you would think) But it has some plot ideas in it that haven't been done I'm sure, and filmmakers always seem to fall back on all the same old cliches, when there's an original story knocking about that's an absolute gift!

The twists of the story seem bizarre if they are described, yet I think they're developed in a fairly convincing way. There's an unrealistic satirical novel, which I won't name, but which I suspect could have been the inspiration for this. Even if Rigbey has derived the story, she still makes a very good, readable thriller, with a pretty good twist at the end. It's a book that eschews pace for longueurs, for the slow build-up, and that's a particular quality I liked about it. Ultimately it has a haunting quality, a touch of the gothic, you will sympathise with the central character for falling for something he has constructed in his own mind, but which...

That's it, I'm saying no more!

[Kaylol · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I finished it I regretted reading it. I did not like the style of writing at all. I only read the first couple of chapters because I had nothing else to read. Then curiosity got the best of me and I read the rest. I found it the ending disappointing and the rest not worth reading.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich fand die Charaktere sehr authentisch und bin gut in die Geschichte gekommen. Vor allem das Ende hat mich sehr überrascht und ich hatte bis zur letzten Seite Spaß an dem Buch. :)

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed with this 20 years ago, when I first read it, and I'm impressed today. At 550 pages, don't pretend to be surprised that this is the slowest of slow burns -- and you will either like that, and be impressed by slow build-up, and dark humor. Or you won't.

First, this isn't really a mystery or whodunnit. Put that out of your head right now. Trying to avoid spoilers here, but this is more like a slow, steady demonstration of how we (readers and characters) kid ourselves, and ignore the evidence right in front of our eyes. Rereading it, and remembering very clearly "the big reveal," one of the great pleasures was noticing how, page upon page, Rigbey drops little hints and clues (at one point, like the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, a 7-year-old child more or less says outright what we should all see), so that, at the end, we can't really say that we haven't been told.

I'm still pondering exactly what Rigbey thought she was doing here. Not a mystery or whodunnit -- something more devious, disguised as a mystery ... (Ooops! Have I said too much?) What struck me this time is how funny it is -- the blurb from The Wall Street Journal on my copy describes the novel as "a comedy of manners ..." and I think there's a lot of truth in that -- like the scientists in her story, Rigbey uses "aim, method, result, conclusion" to describe and dissect different kind of barely functional families, and the individuals who get along by lying to themselves, and imposing narratives on those around them.

If I have one criticism, it's that Rigbey seemed to be in a big hurry to wind it up. After 540 pages, she barely spares 10 pages on the aftermath of The Big Reveal -- it feels like she's done with it, and anxious to get away, with lots of questions unanswered, and issues unresolved.

BUT, even so, I like it. I recommend it, if you have the time and patience and inclination for a slow burn.

For the benefit of anyone who has read the novel, and would like to address the implausibilities therein -- here we go. Do NOT read on if you haven't read the novel, and don't want serious spoilers. HERE BE SPOILERS -- you are warned.

The moment I referred to in my review above is the moment when Lomax' 7-year-old daughter looks at a wedding picture of Julia and Lewis, and says Where's Julia? She sees what the adults around here are stubbornly not seeing--that the woman in the photo isn't the Julia she knows -- she's the only one who looks at the picture and sees the real Julia, not Gail, surgically altered and carefully self-schooled to be Julia's doppelganger...

I think, of course, that it's completely implausible that Gail would have been able to achieve a flawless duplication of Julia -- but that, I think, is Rigbey's point. Gail didn't have to: the real Julia was so dazzlingly beautiful that no one (but Gail) looked at her, face on (like an eclipse ..., geddit ...?), and Gail was so plain and invisible that she left no impression at all. Only an innocent little child (and possibly, Gail's addled-headed, alcohol-impaired mother?) get close to seeing the truth -- that the Julia they see now isn't the Julia in those photos.

One reviewer raised the question of fingerprints, but I think that's an example of how cleverly Rigbey thought this all out (once you allow the big implausibility at the center of it all ...): given that the two women would have had good reason to be in and out of each others' homes/cars/etc, and handling each other possessions, fingerprints would only be useful for identification if Julia's or Gail's had been on record somewhere. Back in the 90s, this probably would have meant an arrest, or perhaps applying for a government job? Today, Gail's nefarious plan might have been foiled by her trip to Europe, and the fingerprint ID she might have had to leave on file at Immigration. Or even a fingerprint password on a laptop -- an example of how many things have changed in such a relatively short time.

Why has no one made a movie or tv series of this? It would be a hoot.

I love the use of astronomy for the metaphors that tie it all together. Nicely done.

[Maaike · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF: 31%

[Joplyn Raavel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly edited and hard to follow. Amazing twist but wish it was the end 💔

[Janine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an okay story, badly told and more than a little improbable. It felt as if the author underestimates the reader's intelligence.

*Possible Spoiler Alert*

Don't people have their finger prints taken when they are arrested in the US?

And I found the fact that a man could be so blinded by a woman very improbable.

I was glad when I was finished with this book and it was over.

[Clyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this, perhaps because there aren't many books written by woman that feature astronomers as the main characters. Good, but not superb.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is really good... like I don't want to put it down. If you like intelligent mystery, psychological suspense, and some eroticism, this one's for you.

[Annthelibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this quite a while back, and remember loving it!
Lots of intelligent suspense- one of thosse books you really cannot put down.

[Diannet1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I found this book interesting I had the whole plot figured out at least half way through the story.

[Coraline · Rating 2 out of 5]

fairly gripping though i ksuspected what happened at the end

[Carolien · Rating 5 out of 5]

x

[Bionic Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set around an observatory in Northern California at the time of an eclipse, this is a very good mystery suspense novel.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A suspenseful mystery with an almost unbelievable twist at the end.