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A Season in Purgatory
A Season in Purgatory
Author: Dominick Dunne
They were the family with everything. Money. Influence. Glamour. Power. The power to halt a police investigation in its tracks. The power to spin a story, concoct a lie, and believe it was the truth. The power to murder without guilt, without shame, and without ever paying the price. America's royalty, they called the Bradleys. But an outsider r...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780345430557
ISBN-10: 0345430557
Publication Date: 11/28/1998
Pages: 464
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 19

3.6 stars, based on 19 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Much like the Kennedy family with political power used for personal gain and cover-up for murder. Great read!
reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 380 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Constant Bradley has what it takes to go all the way; looks, breeding, wit and style. Yet the famed congressman has one fatal flaw. Beneath his handsome face lies a hidden rage that can explode in murder. ONce Harrison Burns was Constants best friend. A scholarship student drawn into the Bradleys privileged world of seaside summers and exclusive clubs, he enjoyed the familys generostiy, until the night when fifteen year old Winifred Utley was bludgeoned to death near the Bradley estate
TheLankyYankee avatar reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 81 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I always like Dominick Dunne and his account of the ways of wealthy people. They do think differently, from you and me. It also gives insight into the death of Martha Moxley and what could have happened in the Skakel household at the time of her murder.
reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book!
reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 3389 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This novel is Dunne at his best. In this story Dunne fictionalizes the Martha Moxley murder and shows his strengths as a storyteller. Here Dunne shows he can balance plot as well as charcter development.
This story is told from the point of veiw of Harrison Burns. When Harrison was a teenager he saw his friend Constant Bradley murder the girl next door. Constant's family buys Harrison's silence through the years by paying his college tution and sending him abroad.

However as the years go on Harrison finds it harder to live with what he has seen. These feelings cause the demise of his marriage and general self loathing. Harrison is forced to face off with the Bradley's when they invite him to their home to ask Harrison to write a book about Constant's life.

Along with Harrison's dilema Dunne tells the story of the demise of a family. The skill with which Dunne tells both stories make this book well worth reading. The other to reason to read it is of course, affairs, family battles, and good gossip.
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reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 24 more book reviews
By far the best Dominick Dunne book I've read.
reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 911 more book reviews
A very interesting read.
JTG avatar reviewed A Season in Purgatory on + 280 more book reviews
Very interesting story about an aristocratic wealthy famiily.


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