Review: Eerie and suspenseful
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 18, 2012
I began reading the work of Mary Roberts Rinehart a few months ago and have become quite a fan in general, but The Confession is far and away the best I have read to date.  As is noted by the narrator toward the beginning of the book, the story is largely about fear itself, or rather the psychology of fear -- what fear does to a person, and even the circumstances that can create fear itself.  The first three-quarters of the book are quite suspenseful, and though I only meant to read for about an hour when first beginning, I was three hours in before I finally forced myself to put it aside.  If I had not had a firm obligation to attend to, I would have finished it then and there, with no breaks.Rinehart skillfully arouses the emotions, causing the reader to palpably feel the anxiety and trepidation described by the main character -- I felt genuinely creeped out a number of times, though I was reading in full daylight.  The prose is excellent, with quality descriptions and flawless dialogue.  Rinehart painted her characters very true to life, and though the tale is set 100 years ago, it does not feel antiquated or out of touch.  Only occasional references to a hack driver or other obsolete trappings reminded me of the older setting.  Because the focus is on human character and reaction, it actually feels quite contemporary.The pacing is also excellent, fast enough to be a page-turner, yet slow enough to keep the suspense high.  This does slow down a bit at the end as the pieces of the mystery begin to fall into place, but not enough to get boring or flat.All in all, a good read, especially for those who enjoy older mysteries.