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Stylish noir

Cover of Tangerine
A review of Tangerine by Christine Mangan

If you need a break from the damp, chill, gray days of early Wisconsin spring (and at this point, who doesn't?), here's your chance to escape to hot, sunny 1950s Tangier in Christine Mangan's Tangerine.

Alice Shipley, after a personal tragedy, rushed into marriage to John who convinces her move to Tangier in Morocco. Though Alice is uneasy about the move, she convinces herself that a complete change in every aspect of her life will be a good thing. Sadly, it is not. Once in Tangier Alice finds herself increasingly isolated and practically agoraphobic, much to John's frustration. Their marriage has quickly become strained and Alice is unhappily trapped. Until the day Lucy Mason drops back into her life.

Lucy Mason was Alice's roommate at College and the two were inseperable best friends. Until that moment that changed everything and sent Alice fleeing. Now Lucy is back saying she wants to make amends. But as they begin to reconnect, Alice realizes how little she really knows Lucy. And when a new mysterious event occurs, Alice's doubts and fears grow.

This is a moody, uneasy, claustrophobic suspense novel and you'll begin to question both of the narrators as you read. The complications of the relationship between Alice and Lucy and the mystery of what happens led to a very spirited discussion for the most recent Lakeview Mystery Book Group.

Apr 7, 2022