Staring at the Light Book

Who is the current Queen of Crime? Rendell and James may still be jockeying for top position, but if Fyfield continues to turn out sterling work like this, they'd better look to their laurels. Each new book establishes her authority as a first-rate crime writer, and her territory is subtly different from her rivals. She is always good at the terrifying internecine warfare of family life, and demonstrates a scarifying grasp of twisted personalities. The plot for the new one is genuinely original: the troubled John Smith is set on the rack when the only person he was ever capable of loving is stolen from him.This is his twin brother, Cannon, who has married a woman he is deeply in love with. But seeing his brother's pathological desire to restore their relationship, Cannon (a sometime bombmaker and artist) goes into hiding. The quirky lawyer Sarah Fortune becomes involved with him and his wife, the real target of the disturbed brother. But is all as it seems? While delivering a powerful narrative of off-kilter psychology, Fyfield is really interested in the nature of evil, and the way in which her protagonists are obliged to deal with it. --Barry ForshawRead More