A review by elliemcc11
Untold Story by Monica Ali
2.0
I have to admit that I wasn't aware of this latest book by Monica Ali, until I came across it at the library. I have read Brick Lane so liked her as an author and quite liked the concept of this book so decided to give it a go.
The basic premise is that Princess Di doesn't get killed in the tunnel in Paris but actually decides, with the help of her Private Secretary, to escape and end up living in small town USA. Now if you are a fan of conspiracy theories you may well believe she isn't dead or else her death was more mysterious than simply being in a crash in a tunnel, so it could appeal to those of you with that interest. Despite being British, I'm not at all sentimental about Princess Di, nor about the royals generally, but I was intrigued as to how an author could change and manipulate history like this.
Of course there wouldn't be a story if things were all simple. So there needs to be a bit of a plot. Quite by chance a journalist who followed her in the past has happened to end up visiting the same small town and despite every effort to change her identity her eyes give her away. And so pursuit begins with, what I feel, a fairly implausible ending.
This book was an easy read, I read it over three nights. I think it will appeal to Princess Di fans (the idea she might have escaped) and to those who are merely intrigued. If you think this is a mystery or thriller then you are mistaken. It's not quite chick-lit but heading in that sort of direction.
The basic premise is that Princess Di doesn't get killed in the tunnel in Paris but actually decides, with the help of her Private Secretary, to escape and end up living in small town USA. Now if you are a fan of conspiracy theories you may well believe she isn't dead or else her death was more mysterious than simply being in a crash in a tunnel, so it could appeal to those of you with that interest. Despite being British, I'm not at all sentimental about Princess Di, nor about the royals generally, but I was intrigued as to how an author could change and manipulate history like this.
Of course there wouldn't be a story if things were all simple. So there needs to be a bit of a plot. Quite by chance a journalist who followed her in the past has happened to end up visiting the same small town and despite every effort to change her identity her eyes give her away. And so pursuit begins with, what I feel, a fairly implausible ending.
This book was an easy read, I read it over three nights. I think it will appeal to Princess Di fans (the idea she might have escaped) and to those who are merely intrigued. If you think this is a mystery or thriller then you are mistaken. It's not quite chick-lit but heading in that sort of direction.