What a good thriller! I really had no clue whatsoever about who might be guilty in this novel until almost the end.
Graduate student Morgan Adair travels to West Briar, LI to be godmother to Drew, the infant son of her childhood friend, Claire, and her husband, Guy. When Morgan arrives she finds Claire suffering from severe postpartum depression and Guy at his wit's end trying to help his wife hold up under the strain of caring for their new son. A week later, as Morgan is preparing to board a plane for England, where she is planning to share research (and, hopefully, a bed) with her colleague, Simon, she receives a call from Claire telling her that she is in police custody, charged with murdering her husband and her son, and that she is guilty of the crime. Morgan postpones her trip to come to the aid of her friend. On arrival back in West Briar she is confronted with family, friends, and even Claire's lawyer, who seem to be unanimous in believing that Claire is guilty as charged and will spend the rest of her life in jail or, at best, confined to a mental intitution. With the occasional help of guy's best friend, Fitz, Morgan sets out to prove that someone other than Claire is responsible for these unspeakable crimes.
MacDonald has a wonderful talent for throwing in red herrings so subtle that you see the possibilities but are never really sure if they are clues or just coincidences. If you enjoy psychological suspense and superb old-fashioned amateur detective work, try reading this one. There are no hacked up bodies or machine guns here. I guess they call it "domestic suspense" because it really COULD happen in your house or your neighborhood, and that makes it even scarier than serial killers or things that go bump in the night!
No comments:
Post a Comment