Weaving Shadows by
Margaret Murphy
pbk out August 03
(NEL)
at £6.99
Barrister Clara Pascal is still traumatised by the experience of being kidnapped (in
previous novel Darkness Falls) and refuses to take on any criminal cases. The
damage to her relationships at work and home (in Chester) and with her young
daughter in particular, is precisely and unflinchingly related and is painful to read.
Cajoled and bullied by her friend Mitch, Clara agrees to take on a simple child
custody case that unexpectedly turns out to have a close link to the bloody murder of a
young mother. Clara finds herself defending a convicted killer, an unpleasant and
aggressive man who stalks women and takes their photographs.
This, the sixth psychological thriller from Wirral-based writer Murphy, is the first
time that she has written a sequel: the barrister is a fascinating character, astute but
sometimes infuriating, and there is plenty of material to explore in her recovery from
the ordeal of abduction and in how it impacts on her approach to her work. Murphy is
especially keen on examining the psychology of victims and villains rather than
detectives though Weaving Shadows also demonstrates a firm grasp of police
procedure. Murphy's dialogue is good and the interplay between the suspect and
lawyer Clara absorbing and unpredictable. There is a neat connection back to the
most important family bonds in the nerve wracking denouement and optimism for the
future.
Manchester Evening News 17.5.03
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries set on the mean streets of Manchester)
Weaving Shadows by
Margaret Murphy
