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The Touch of Innocents
It is always the innocent who suffer to make the powerful rich.A gripping thriller from the author of the Goodfellowe Series.
Paul Deveraux
is one of the most powerful politicians in the country.
Isadora Dean
is the rising star of television news journalism.
Two exceptionally talented, successful people brought in to dangerous conflict.
Izzy cannot accept the death of her baby daughter Bella. Stubborn and at times irrational, her belief that her daughter is alive leads her to the sordid truth - an international black market where babies are sold for cash. Behind this horrific truth, Isadora detects the sinister hand of Devereux.
She is just one woman against the world.The search for her daughter will cost her everything, but as long as she believes that Bella is alive she will never surrender and Paul Devereux must use every means in his power to make sure she is silenced for good.
Paul Deveraux
is one of the most powerful politicians in the country.
Isadora Dean
is the rising star of television news journalism.
Two exceptionally talented, successful people brought in to dangerous conflict.
Izzy cannot accept the death of her baby daughter Bella. Stubborn and at times irrational, her belief that her daughter is alive leads her to the sordid truth - an international black market where babies are sold for cash. Behind this horrific truth, Isadora detects the sinister hand of Devereux.
She is just one woman against the world.The search for her daughter will cost her everything, but as long as she believes that Bella is alive she will never surrender and Paul Devereux must use every means in his power to make sure she is silenced for good.
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
4 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Michael Dobbs
101 books372 followersMichael Dobbs was born on the same day, in the same hour as Prince Charles in 1948.
He is the son of nurseryman Eric and his wife Eileen Dobbs and was educated at Hertford Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford University. After graduating in 1971 he moved to the United States.
In the USA he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, which he funded by a job as feature writer for the Boston Globe, where he worked as an editorial assistant and political feature writer from 1971 to 1975.
He graduated in 1975 with an M.A., M.A.L.D., and PhD in nuclear defence studies. His doctoral thesis was published as SALT on the Dragon's Tail. In 2007 he returned to Tufts where he gave the Alumni Salutation.
After gaining his PhD he returned to England and began working in London for the Conservative Party. He was an advisor to the then leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher, from 1977 to 1979 and from 1979 to 1981 he was a Conservative MP speechwriter.
He served as a Government Special Advisor from 1981 to 1986 and he survived the Brighton Bombing in 1984 at the Conservative Party Conference. He was the Conservative Party Chief of Staff from 1986 to 1987.
He was considered a masterful political operator and was called "Westminster’s baby-faced hit man", by The Guardian in 1987. In the John Major government, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994 to 1995, after which he retired from politics.
Outside of politics, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi as Deputy Advertising Chairman from 1983 to 1986 and was Director of Worldwide Corporate Communications at the company from 1987 to 1988. He became Deputy Chairman, working directly under Maurice Saatchi from 1988 to 1991.
From 1991 to 1998 he was a columnist for The Mail on Sunday and also wrote column for the Daily Express. From 1998 to 2001 he hosted the current affairs program Despatch Box on BBC television and has also been a radio presenter.
Nowadays he is best known as the bestselling author of 17 novels (up to 2010), such as 'The Turning Point', about Winston Churchill and Guy Burgess, and 'A Family Affair', about the last days of Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street, and also a number of non-fiction works.
His writing career began in 1989 with the publication of 'House of Cards', the first in what would become a trilogy of political thrillers with Francis Urquhart as the central character. 'House of Cards' was followed by 'To Play the King' in 1992 and 'The Final Cut' in 1994.
Each of the three novels was adapted by the BBC into a miniseries and, with Ian Richardson playiing a starring role, the trilogy received a combined 14 BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA wins and was voted the 84th Best British Show in History.
His 2004 novel 'Winston’s War' was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award. He was the winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for best historical novel in 2008 and in 2001 was shortlisted for the C4 Political Novel of the Year. He has also been a judge of the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and lectures at dozens of literary and fundraising events each year.
Anthony Howard of The Times said “Dobbs is following in a respectable tradition. Shakespeare, Walter Scott, even Tolstoy, all used historical events as the framework for their writings. And, unlike some of their distinguished works, Dobbs's novel is, in fact, astonishingly historically accurate."
He is now a full time writer and divides his time between London and Wiltshire, where he says that he lives near a church and a pub! He is married with four children.
Gerry Wolstenholme
October 2010
He is sometimes confused with American author Michael Dobbs, who is a distant relative of his and also an author of historical books (e.g. "Saboteurs - The Nazi Raid on America").
He is the son of nurseryman Eric and his wife Eileen Dobbs and was educated at Hertford Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford University. After graduating in 1971 he moved to the United States.
In the USA he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, which he funded by a job as feature writer for the Boston Globe, where he worked as an editorial assistant and political feature writer from 1971 to 1975.
He graduated in 1975 with an M.A., M.A.L.D., and PhD in nuclear defence studies. His doctoral thesis was published as SALT on the Dragon's Tail. In 2007 he returned to Tufts where he gave the Alumni Salutation.
After gaining his PhD he returned to England and began working in London for the Conservative Party. He was an advisor to the then leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher, from 1977 to 1979 and from 1979 to 1981 he was a Conservative MP speechwriter.
He served as a Government Special Advisor from 1981 to 1986 and he survived the Brighton Bombing in 1984 at the Conservative Party Conference. He was the Conservative Party Chief of Staff from 1986 to 1987.
He was considered a masterful political operator and was called "Westminster’s baby-faced hit man", by The Guardian in 1987. In the John Major government, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1994 to 1995, after which he retired from politics.
Outside of politics, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi as Deputy Advertising Chairman from 1983 to 1986 and was Director of Worldwide Corporate Communications at the company from 1987 to 1988. He became Deputy Chairman, working directly under Maurice Saatchi from 1988 to 1991.
From 1991 to 1998 he was a columnist for The Mail on Sunday and also wrote column for the Daily Express. From 1998 to 2001 he hosted the current affairs program Despatch Box on BBC television and has also been a radio presenter.
Nowadays he is best known as the bestselling author of 17 novels (up to 2010), such as 'The Turning Point', about Winston Churchill and Guy Burgess, and 'A Family Affair', about the last days of Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street, and also a number of non-fiction works.
His writing career began in 1989 with the publication of 'House of Cards', the first in what would become a trilogy of political thrillers with Francis Urquhart as the central character. 'House of Cards' was followed by 'To Play the King' in 1992 and 'The Final Cut' in 1994.
Each of the three novels was adapted by the BBC into a miniseries and, with Ian Richardson playiing a starring role, the trilogy received a combined 14 BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA wins and was voted the 84th Best British Show in History.
His 2004 novel 'Winston’s War' was shortlisted for the Channel 4 Political Book of the Year Award. He was the winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for best historical novel in 2008 and in 2001 was shortlisted for the C4 Political Novel of the Year. He has also been a judge of the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and lectures at dozens of literary and fundraising events each year.
Anthony Howard of The Times said “Dobbs is following in a respectable tradition. Shakespeare, Walter Scott, even Tolstoy, all used historical events as the framework for their writings. And, unlike some of their distinguished works, Dobbs's novel is, in fact, astonishingly historically accurate."
He is now a full time writer and divides his time between London and Wiltshire, where he says that he lives near a church and a pub! He is married with four children.
Gerry Wolstenholme
October 2010
He is sometimes confused with American author Michael Dobbs, who is a distant relative of his and also an author of historical books (e.g. "Saboteurs - The Nazi Raid on America").
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 17, 2021
Read this book in 2006, and it is a standalone book where conflicting characters will clash to an eventful solution.
On the one side, there's Paul Devereux, a powerful rich politician who always gets his way.
On the other, there's Isadora Dean, a rising star in television news journalism, who cannot believe that her baby girl, Bella, is dead.
Determined to find out the truth behind the disappearance of her baby girl, Izzie will come to the conclusion that her baby girl has ended up on the international black market, with the sinister and powerful hand of Paul Devereux behind it.
In the search for her daughter she stands alone against the power and money of Paul Devereux, and in the end those two worlds will clash, Izzie sure that Bella is alive and Devereux determined to silence Izzie for good.
What will follow is an exciting chase of cat and mouse, in which the mouse, Izzie, will escape the clutches of the cat, Devereux, and from my point of view, satisfaction will be done in a somewhat tame and unbelievable fashion in the end.
Recommended, for those who like a rather uncomplicated story about the sale of a child and the consequences that will bring to the mastermind behind it all, but for me this is unbelievable tame tale and that's why I like to call it: "A Mediocre Touch Of Innocents"!
On the one side, there's Paul Devereux, a powerful rich politician who always gets his way.
On the other, there's Isadora Dean, a rising star in television news journalism, who cannot believe that her baby girl, Bella, is dead.
Determined to find out the truth behind the disappearance of her baby girl, Izzie will come to the conclusion that her baby girl has ended up on the international black market, with the sinister and powerful hand of Paul Devereux behind it.
In the search for her daughter she stands alone against the power and money of Paul Devereux, and in the end those two worlds will clash, Izzie sure that Bella is alive and Devereux determined to silence Izzie for good.
What will follow is an exciting chase of cat and mouse, in which the mouse, Izzie, will escape the clutches of the cat, Devereux, and from my point of view, satisfaction will be done in a somewhat tame and unbelievable fashion in the end.
Recommended, for those who like a rather uncomplicated story about the sale of a child and the consequences that will bring to the mastermind behind it all, but for me this is unbelievable tame tale and that's why I like to call it: "A Mediocre Touch Of Innocents"!
October 5, 2018
Michael Dobbs was a former speech writer for Margaret Thatcher's government so not only is he well able to spin a believable yarn he also has the inside track on politics and politicians. Some of the content of this story is very disturbing dealing as it does with the trafficking of babies and it also gives as horrendous an insight into the world of the heroin addict as Irvine Welsh. However, the part that made me really seethe was the treatment of women and their rights in 1994 regardless of any laws that may have been passed granting equality etc. This is a very compelling, fast moving thriller by a consummate storyteller.
March 9, 2022
This book was like walking through treacle and I couldn't hook into it at all. It's the first Michael Dobbs book I've read and I was expecting much better.
The writing style seemed off and I was just glad to get to the end, predictable as it was.
The writing style seemed off and I was just glad to get to the end, predictable as it was.
March 2, 2021
Not bad, but no House of Cards!
Interesting enough plot, but the brevity of the book made it hard for the author to really explore this matter.
Enjoyable, if superficial.
Interesting enough plot, but the brevity of the book made it hard for the author to really explore this matter.
Enjoyable, if superficial.
November 3, 2023
Amazing plot.
A bit tedious in parts but a decent read. Plot has a few holes in it if you’re very pickey!
A bit tedious in parts but a decent read. Plot has a few holes in it if you’re very pickey!
July 15, 2013
I don't think I've ever been disappointed by a Michael Dobbs novel. They are easy to read, entertaining, gripping, and most of all, credible.
'The Touch of Innocents' is no exception. Mix politics with money, power and coverups and you have the basic plot, but the twists and turns will keep you guessing.
'The Touch of Innocents' is no exception. Mix politics with money, power and coverups and you have the basic plot, but the twists and turns will keep you guessing.
August 16, 2010
I read this quickly - always a good sign! - and enjoyed the twists and turns of the story.
March 19, 2013
Good read, great plot and lots of political shinnanigans - lots of head hopping which I didn't mind but as a writer in progress am told is not the thing to do!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews