NO ESCAPE

Hilary Norman

Piatkus £10.99pbo

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One winter`s morning, the body of a woman is found on the floor of a shed on an allotment. Lynne Bolsover has been beaten to death. Soon after the discovery of her body, her husband, John Bolsover, is charged with her murder. Lynne`s sister, and a neighbour of the Bolsovers, tell the police that Bolsover is a violent man, a bully, and that on this occasion he probably went too far when arguing with his wife.

Joanne Patston and her husband, Tony, illegally adopt (in other words, pay for) a three-month-old Romanian orphan. But Tony Patston quickly becomes disillusioned with fatherhood when the child constantly cries. He begins hitting her. Joanne is afraid to go to the authorities because of the illegal adoption and the possibility that they might take her daughter away. Then Joanne is murdered.

Lizzie Piper is a successful TV chef and cookery writer. To all outward appearances, she has an idyllic life with her eminent surgeon husband and their three children, even though one of the latter suffers from muscular dystrophy. But all is not as it seems. Her husband, has an appetite for violent sex which both disgusts and frightens Lizzie.

The link between the three women is Robin Allbeury, a rich marital lawyer who has a sideline in helping wives in abusive marriages. He makes no charge for this service. So why does he do it? A question to which detective inspector Helen Shipley would like an answer when she makes the connection between Allbeury and the two murders.

Although domestic violence is the theme, this is by no means a depressing tale. It is a splendid suspense thriller, skilfully plotted and expertly told in short, well-paced chapters. Hilary Norman is an accomplished writer. She keeps you on tenterhooks as you fret about her characters, and you are drawn into a story which becomes increasingly gripping as it progresses to its exciting climax. Well recommended.