Tangled Web UK Review December 2000
Dying Embers by
Margaret Murphy
hbk out September 00
Published by Macmillan
at £16.99
Teacher Geri Simpson find school life more comfortable than home, where she and boyfriend Nick are stuck in a deteriorating relationship. When one of Geri's students, popular sixth former Ryan Connelly, goes missing she can sense the tension and unease among the pupils and suspects that some of them know more than they are letting on. Sian, Ryan's girlfriend, is convinced that he is in danger and is proved right when his badly burnt body is found.
The police think Ryan's death was an accident caused by a drugs experiment but Geri won't accept that, it's completely out of character. She believes
there must be another explanation and talks to family and friends about it.
Meanwhile Ryan's best friend Frank is acting scared, Geri's Head teacher
instructs her to leave the family alone and someone delivers a frightening
message to her home warning her to stop meddling.
Dying Embers is an accomplished psychological thriller which explores
questions of grief, guilt, responsibility and atonement. The sense of
menace is sustained well, the plot neatly constructed and Murphy
successfully directs our suspicions to several different characters. As a
teacher herself Murphy effortlessly re-creates the atmosphere of a modern
high school. There is a genuine warmth and sympathy in her portrayal of
young people and a realistic look at the pressures they face.
Manchester Evening news 6.10.00
(
Cath Staincliffe
- Author of the highly acclaimed Sal Kilkenny Mysteries set on the Mean Streets of Manchester)
