The May Anderson Hospital is one of the few local clinics to offer abortions, and provokes strong reactions in the community. When thirteen-year-old Dana Smith is gunned down as she leaves the clinic, there is outrage. Reporter Laura Ackroyd and her boyfriend, DCI Michael Thackeray, are both soon immersed in the case. It becomes clear that Dr Fenton-Green, who runs the abortion unit, is not popular. Was the bullet for him? For Ackroyd and Thackeray, things don't add up and it is not long before their own relationship is under strain.
Patricia Hall is the pen-name of journalist Maureen O'Connor. She was born and brought up in West Yorkshire, which is where she has chosen to set her acclaimed series of novels featuring reporter Laura Ackroyd and DCI Michael Thackeray. She is married, with two grown-up sons, and now lives in Oxford.
I thought this was the poorest book in this series so far. The plot was not plausible and there were loose ends at the conclusion. Kevin Mower was falling apart and Ackroyd and Thackeray were a loggerheads for most of the story.
Definitely not the best mystery I've ever read. Interesting concept, but somewhat confusingly written. The end reads like she ran out of energy. I do like the reporter and detective.