Kiss It Away by
Carol Anne Davis
hbk out July 03
Published by Do Not Press
at £15
Salisbury is an apparently tranquil setting for a crime novel, the type of place that one
might associate with malice domestic, perhaps a genteel poisoning investigated by an
elderly spinster. Not a bit of it. The cathedral city provides the backdrop for Carol
Anne Davis's fourth novel (she has also published a couple of true crime titles) and it
could hardly be less cosy, or less likely to win her friends in the local tourist
information office. A bleak, uncompromising read with plenty of graphic sex scenes,
the book also offers compelling insights into the world of drug-fuelled hate crime.
Nick, a young man with a troubled past, is violent and unpredictable. One night he
encounters Ben, whose relationship with an older woman is falling apart and is
wandering through a park in the darkness. In a scene not for the squeamish, Nick
rapes Ben. Later he commits a murder and Ben, who is unable to confide in anyone
about the trauma that he has suffered, becomes a prime suspect. The story moves at a
considerable pace as Nick continues to inflict pain and terror on those unfortunate
enough to encounter him. Eventually a sort of justice is done, but there is still time for
a memorable coda which underlines Davis's fascination with the ways in which
people deceive themselves.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Kiss It Away by
Carol Anne Davis
