June 10, 2013
In this straightforward psychological thriller from romance author Harris (A Brighter Dawn), painfully shy Maureen Flynn is still struggling, 16 years after the crime, with the memories of having been sexually assaulted by classmates in the small English town of Benbury. Flynn is surprised but pleased to receive a proposal from Philip Harmer, the professor for whom she works as an assistant, but is shattered when Harmer withdraws his marriage offer after learning of her rape. Full of uncontrollable rage, she forms the perfect plan for revenge, and when a Benbury High School teacher is found viciously stabbed to death, the police are, quite literally, clueless. When a newsagent is killed in precisely the same manner, the pressure increases on Det. Insp. Ruth Morgan and her partner, Det. Sgt. Paddy Hardcastle, who sense the two murders are connected. Despite bland characterizations and a strong reliance on coincidence, the story engages throughout. Agent: Caroline Sheldon, Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency (U.K.).
November 1, 2014
Dissatisfied with small-town life and craving companionship, 18-year-old Helen Price rushes into marriage with a handsome soldier during the peak of WWII. After the war, the routines of life as a military wife combined with her husband's many absences frustrate her, but three children and 20 years later, Helen and Adam's marriage is stable and steady when Adam dies in an accident. Helen returns to her hometown seeking solace and escape. When her daughter Ruth reveals her plans to marry a young soldier, Helen sees echoes of her own past, and her resentment toward Ruth's husband strains their relationship. Helen's story is far from uncommonmany young women married hastily during the war, with mixed results. Helen strives to make the best of what she has done, but every time she finds happiness, it disappears as quickly as it came. Some of the plot twists, especially later in the book, strain the boundaries of credibility, but overall, Harris's latest is a fast-paced family saga that illuminates the life of a war bride after the fighting has ended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)