Barrister Clara Pascal thought she was taking on a simple child custody case...Still traumatised by her own recent experiences as a kidnap victim, Clara works hard to keep the shadows of the past from affecting her friends, family and work. But the dreams don't get any easier and the past won't go away. When a local woman is brutally murdered Clara finds herself thrown back into a crime investigation she wants nothing to do with. Risking her career, her reputation and her life Clara sets out to prove that the past has no hold on the future while a killer comes ever closer to making her the next victim...
Margaret Murphy writes internationally acclaimed and bestselling psychological thrillers under her own name, and in September 2023, she will publish the first of a new series, Dead Man Walking as M. K. Murphy.
She has also published forensic thrillers as Ashley Dyer and AD Garrett. She is a past Chair of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), founder of Murder Squad, and a former RLF Writing Fellow and Reading Round Lector. A Short Story Dagger, HRF Keating, and CWA Red Herring award winner, she has also been shortlisted for the ‘First Blood’ critics award and CWA Dagger in the Library.
A library find. September 2024. Amazing writing. Interesting story. Held my attention. Couldn't put it down. Only thing is, It had to many unnecessary cuss words. That in itself spoiled the reading pleasure for me. Does all her books contain such language? I'm going to read another one just to find out.
Another thriller in which I most liked the portrayal of the growing identification between the framed suspect (a murderer) and the traumatised lawyer (although the latter's extreme fear and prissiness annoyed me.
Well described the depths of emotional damages, and also recovery from them.That isn't often as well done in fiction novels as it was done in this one. Realistic emotions made reading this very satisfactory.
I really enjoyed the book right from the beginning. It then started adding too many characters that were unnecessary to the story and just caused confusion. The ending was alright, somewhat predictable and other parts confusing. Wouldn’t read again.
The ins and outs of the plots keep the heart racing. Interesting sequel and continued development of the main characters. I will look forward to the next in the series.
I honestly could hardly put this book down. The plot twists just kept coming and in the end I was surprised. Do yourself a favor and buy this author's books!
Pretty good read. I like the author's writing style. She's clear and concise with few typos. Clara becomes a bit tedious though. For a smart woman she can act pretty dumb.
Margaret Murphy's 2nd book did not fail to entertain, like her first book. I like that she keeps the same "core characters" in both books (and hope that will continue in books 3, etc.) as it gives us the opportunity to join her as she develops these complicated characters. I had a hard time with her first book keeping up with the many characters in the police department. With the second book it was easier, although still difficult. For example, it's still not easy for me to know which ones are women. I think I finally memorized that Young is a female. The only thing I can offer about that is that there are a LOT of characters in the police department. But this doesn't make the book any less enjoyable.
Parts of this were quite interesting. The ex-con Clemence was a case in point. Clara, his solicitor, was somewhat interesting, having been abducted and now having to relate all over again to her husband and their teenage daughter. This takes place in Great Britain, so procedures and so forth are a little different. It started out well, but I got bogged down later.
Really good Barrister Clara Pascal was a kidnap victim who is now scarred of her own shadow When a local women is brutly murdered everyone points the finger at the man who has just been released from prison on a murder charge But did he do it