A Place of Safety by
Caroline Graham
pbk out November 99
(Headline)
at £5.99
The village of Feme Basset is shocked by the murder of Charlie Leathers and the savage beating of Candy, his little Jack Russell. It is not that Charlie is much liked in the village. Indeed he is loathed, particularly by his long-suffering wife Hetty. But it is a murder nevertheless and brings DCI Tom Barnaby and Sergeant Troy to investigate. The chief suspect is a young offender staying at the Old Rectory as the guest of Lionel Lawrence, the ex-vicar. Lawrence is a do-gooder and welcomes young offenders whom he hopes to rehabilitate, but his wife, Ann, is not so keen. She had problems with a young woman called Carlotta who has disappeared. Ann believes she may be responsible for Carlotta's death Ann also resents the young man, an arrogant and handsome individual called Tarry Jackson, known as Jar. Barnaby looks up Jackson's record and realises that he is very dangerous and quite capable of murder. The detective is certain that Jar killed Charlie Leathers, but he lacks evidence.
This is not a mystery of the usual whodunit kind because we know almost from the start who the murderer is. We read on because we want know how Barnaby will eventually get his man, It is all very plausible and there are a host of characters whose interest for us lies not in their being suspects, but in their vulnerability. There is Ann Lawrence, as long-suffering as Hetty, but now at the end of her tether and ready to shake off the bullying of her intimidating husband; Valentine Fainlight, writer and homosexual, in thrall to Jax; Louise, Val's sister, struggling to make a go of living with her difficult brother; Lionel Lawrence, stubborn and mulish and convinced that he is in the right and doing God's work; Hetty Leathers trying to rebuild her life with the battered Candy after the death of Charlie; and her faithful friend Evadne with her five dogs. The story is told in episodes of a page or two and the author switches confidently from one character to another, giving the reader a clear and rounded picture as the plot unfolds, DCI Barnaby dominates the book, though this Barnaby is rather different from his lightweight TV persona, John Nettles.
A Place of Safety by
Caroline Graham