The Seduction of Water (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

"An atmospheric thriller, but a smart one with a racing story line."
--New York magazine

"GOTHIC MYSTERY . . . Seduction enchants with its fairy-tale motif and sensuous atmospherics."
--People (Page-turner of the week)

"TRULY A SEDUCTIVE READING EXPERIENCE . . . Grabs the reader on the first page and holds on for the entire journey."
--The Denver Post

"LIKE THE BEST MYSTERIES, The Seduction of Water offers puzzles and twists galore but still tells a human story."
--The Boston Globe

"[A] TAUT THRILLER . . .ANOTHER HOME RUN FOR CAROL GOODMAN . . .
The Seduction of Water combines folk tales and gothic horror with a thoroughly modern story. . . . Though this is the kind of book you'll stay up late reading, don't go so fast you miss the beautiful lyrical writing."
--Burlington Free Press

"The new novel more than redeems the promise of the first with a many-layered, subtle piece of fiction. . . . The reader steps into the story almost as one would step into a conversation with a good friend."
--The Denver Post

"Goodman's crisp, graceful writing keeps the reader engaged through the zigzagging plot. Lively and funny, Iris makes for a likable narrator. Throughout, the reader experiences pleasurable tension between wanting to find out what happens next and trying to savor the descriptions of place and people. . . . Fashioning one story from many, Goodman gives readers both an entertaining mystery and an intriguing glimpse into why we turn to stories in the first place."
--The Boston Globe

"Gripping . . . Entrancing . . . A completely involving mystery cleverly tied in with several fairy tales."
--Booklist

"VERY INTRIGUING AND SATISFYING."
--Charleston Post & Courier

"Alluring . . . [An] atmospheric page-turner. . . Combining dark fairy tale themes with a modern tale of suspense, Goodman succeeds in crafting another captivating mystery."
--Pages magazine

"With this exciting second book . . . Goodman establishes herself as a writer to watch in the field of literary thrillers."
--Library Journal(starred review)

"Mystery, folklore, a thoroughly modern romance, a strong sense of place, and a winning combination of erudition and accessibility make this second novel a treat."
--Publishers Weekly

"Goodman successfully plays along with the fairy-take formula but translates it so successfully that the world she creates--and the people who inhabit it--are entirely believable."
--Book Street USA

After writing a story about her late mother, Katherine Morrissey, that includes a dark Irish fairy tale told to her by her mother, Iris Greenfeder returns her childhood home at the remote Hotel Equinox in the Catskills, intending to write her mother's biography and search for a long-lost manuscript written by Katherine, only to stumble into the middle of a haunting mystery. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.