A Stranger in Their Midst

by Frank Delaney

Living in 1950s Ireland, the Kane girls are innocent and affectionate young women. Then, into their lives comes Dennis Sykes, a man with a secret history of emotional mayhem and scandal. The Kane girls have no defences against this sexual terrorist. This is the sequel to "The Sins of the Mothers".

403 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Frank Delaney was an author, a broadcaster on both television and radio, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, lecturer, and a judge of many literary prizes. Delaney interviewed more than 3,500 of the world's most important writers. NPR called him 'The Most Eloquent Man in the World'. Delaney was born and raised in County Tipperary, Ireland, spent more than twenty-five years in England before moving to the United States in 2002. He lived in Litchfield County, Connecticut, with his wife, writer and marketer, Diane Meier.

Reviews

[Margaret Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because I loved the author's "Matchmaker of Kenmare". This is a tale of innocence and predatory evil. Dennis Sykes is brilliant, charming and utterly destructive. Reacting to the abandonment by his mother, who has brought him up to observe and profit from women, Dennis sets out to avenge himself by wooing and then abandoning as many women as he can. Meanwhile Grace and Helena Kane are being raised in strictest innocence, and both fall prey to Dennis when he enters their lives as the engineer who will bring electricity to their village by flooding the girls' Eden-like valley refuge. The struggle that ensues between Dennis and Grace, who alone opposes him, makes for great tension. Dennis seems to have won the battle but in the end Grace has the last word in a dramatic denoument.

[Diane Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great family drama - but the part that I most loved was the behind the scenes story about bringing electricity to Ireland.

Most of us forget that much of rural Ireland operated without running water and without electricity until after the Second World War. Frank did his school lessons by light from a kerosene lantern. As he said to me once, Think Persia.

This book brings it all home, as we see a country move toward the 20th Century.

[Arwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dennis Sykes is one of the most loathsome and repugnant characters I have ever encountered! I was just dying for him to get his come-uppance. Did he? That would be a spoiler!
Very good book, well written and the characters really well drawn.