Patricia Hall

Page Updated: 08/09/2004

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Patricia Hall - Page 2

The Italian Girl

Perils Of The Night

In the Bleak Midwinter

Dying Fall

First British Edition Constable (1998)

The Italian Girl
See Review by Andrew Taylor - author of the highly acclaimed Roth & Lydmouth Series
Long gone and best forgotten had been Bradfield's verdict on Mariella Bonnetti, the beautiful Italian girl who went missing on a rainy Coronation day. But when the bones of a young woman are dug up, bitter memories and old hatreds surface too.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Thackeray is leading the official investigation into Mariella Bonnetti's murder, but he meets only evasion and deceit amongst those who remember her. Then one crucial witness is found dead and another drugged, and old murder turns brutally new.
Thackeray's girlfriend, journalist Laura Ackroyd, has her own reasons to be interested in the case. Her grandmother, now ill and in a nursing home, recalls the Bonnettis and the day of Mariella's disappearance well. Laura's father was among the gang of children who played street cricket with the Italian girl.
Gradually, a picture begins to emerge of Mariella's last hours, but are the police getting any closer to her killer? Who is it in thrusting modern Bradfield who is so determined to conceal the identity of Mariella's murderer that they would murder again - and again?
THE POISON POOL
"Well observed characters, a thoroughly modem theme, and a degree of control remarkable in a debut, make The Poison Pool a fine achievement and leave me eager for more." Reginald Hill
"This auspicious debut is set in a modern England where the landscape is dotted with council houses as well as country homes and where class differences are not to be ignored." Publishers Weekly
THE COLDNESS OF KILLERS
“As contemporary as tonight's evening paper, and much more exciting." Robert Barnard
”An excellently drawn background, realistic characters, and a plot that leads to a startling final revelation.” The Scotsman
DEATH BY ELECTION
"Grips like a candidate's handshake." The Guardian
"A taut and exciting style, vivid characters and a fast paced tale." The Yorkshire Post
"Highly readable... unpretentious, thought-provoking and, above all, entertaining." Oxford Mail
"A thoughtful and well written novel, with believable characters and a hard-to-solve mystery" Sunday Telegraph

First British Edition Constable (1997)

Perils Of The Night
See Review by John Boyles
Reporter Laura Ackroyd finds herself on a collision course with Detective Chief Inspector Michael Thackeray when she takes on a rash assignment in Bradfield's red light district and ends up in the cells. It was while she was at the police station facing his anger and embarrassment that news of the murder came in. A young woman had been found stabbed to death in the upstairs bedroom of a terraced house in the notorious Whitley Street. But the victim was not one of the local prostitutes. She was a student, a regular at the local church and studying hard for her exams. Who could have wanted to kill her?
With the street girls besieged by vigilantes and two brutal murders in the neighbourhood, Ackroyd and Thackeray find their loyalties stretched and their lives at risk. When one of the dead girl's flatmates disappears, it looks as though they have a suspect. But what is the involvement of the charismatic local vicar, how exactly were the impoverished student residents of Whitley Street supplementing their grants and what might the tabloid press uncover in the dark corners of family lives?
Patricia Hall's latest novel offers a skilful mix of contemporary issues and emotional dramas which ends in a climax of blood and tears.

Paperback - Warner

In the Bleak Midwinter
When Bradfield reporter Laura Ackroyd is assigned to nearby Arnedale’s local newspaper, it seems there is more than midwinter blues to explain her frosty welcome among the town's power-brokers. Instantly wary of her new neighbours, she soon discovers feelings of hostility towards a group of New Age travellers camped outside the town, corruption relating to land deals that are not being covered by the local press, and an apparent link to the recent murder in Bradfield of Linda Wright, a young estate agent.
When a local campaigner against land development is also killed, Laura senses the two dead women may point to a much larger web of secrecy and corruption,. Realising she needs to dig deeper than several of the town's interested parties wish her to, Laura finds there are some powerful people who will use violence to deter her prying eyes..
Patricia Hall once again cleverly draws together personal and political issues in this refreshing and topical mystery.
"Reminiscent of Reginald Hill." Yorkshire Post
"Hall's characters have the smack in the face quality of real life, are well developed, and most importantly, co-exist with some very fine plotting indeed." Crime Time
"Psychologically acute, with graphic description, characters who are often as chilling as the place, and the tense, tortured love affair between Laura and Thackeray. Absorbing stuff" Kirkus Reviews

Paperback - Warner

Dying Fall
High summer in Bradfield: an oppressive heat blankets the Heights estate; adding to the tension already gripping the high-rise blocks and walkways. Joy-riding is on the increase, with bored youths tearing around the residential streets in races everyone knew would end in tragedy.
But the young car thieves are not the only problem facing an increasingly beleaguered police force. Laura Ackroyd, a reporter for the local paper covering the problems in the Heights, is investigating a decade-old murder conviction now in doubt, and soon begins to notice disturbing links between present and past…
In a mystery which embraces deceit, fraud and torn loyalties, Patricia Hall skilfully reveals a plot of dazzling ingenuity and suspense.
'A thorough and well-written novel, with believable characters and a hard-to-solve mystery." Sunday Telegraph
"Welcome to no-nonsense journalist Laura Ackroyd and her social conscience. A strong contemporary plot... Highly commended." The Observer
"Hall is good and getting better." Booklist
"Patricia Hall can horrify the reader with a simply written, yet shocking and wholly unexpected sentence." Liverpool Daily Post