Better Than Death by
Georgie Hale
pbk out November 03
(NEL)
at £6.99
I'm not quite sure what 'noir' means, but I feel that this must be one. It is a
dark and unhappy tale of revenge, but one that keeps the pages turning.
I spotted 'whodunnit' two-thirds of the way through, by a process of
elimination, but needed to keep going just to make sure!
In biology, there is a process called 'parallel evolution' and this certainly
applies to literature. Certain types of plot have their fashions and during the
past few months I have reviewed three books, of which this is one, which
have a remarkable similarity in their basic storyline. They were published
too closely in time for plagiarism, so maybe this 'sub-genre' is in fashion,
perhaps pushing out the serial killer yarns which have such a vogue recently.
All three began with a group of university students who 'did wrong' in their
youth, then the event came back to haunt them and cause them grief,
including death. Two were hit-and-run accidents when the students were
drunk, this one began with a gang-rape. In all of them, the students escaped
early punishment, but their consciences and external forces caught up with
them long afterwards.
The central character is Matthew Cosgrave, a successful businessman who
has concealed the fact that he was tried for rape twenty-five years earlier,
along with four class-mates. They were acquitted when the father of one lad,
an eminent QC, demolished the prosecution case and showed the
complainant to be a blackmailing liar.
At a twenty-five year reunion, he begins to discover that all five, except
himself, have suffered severe problems, from paraplegia through facial
disfigurement to suicide. They all have had cryptic letters, which later
crystallise into outright blackmail and Matthew's marriage is being ruined
by his efforts to find out what is going on.
The plot needs the usual dose of suspension of disbelief, but this is common
to the majority of crime fiction. It is well-written and the pace is good,
though it's hardly a spirit-lifter for reading on a dark winter's evening.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
Better Than Death by
Georgie Hale
