The Lover by
Laura Wilson
pbk out June 04
(Orion)
at £9.99
The keen price of this hardback suggests that Orion think that they have picked a
winner. And indeed they have. Laura Wilson's story, set in 1940, has at the time of
writing this review already been shortlisted for the Ellis Peters Dagger for the best
historical mystery of the year. It is a deserved accolade, since this account of a
'Blackout Ripper', fictional but derived from a factual base, is a compelling read. The
story is told from three points of view: those of Lucy, a respectable young woman
who works in an office, Rene, a Soho prostitute, and Jim, a fighter pilot who develops
a taste for murder. Wilson's skill is evident from the way in which she builds
suspense, even though the reader knows much more than Lucy and Rene, as well as
from atmospheric set-piece scenes, notably the bombing which almost kills Rene. The
ending of the story is grim in the extreme. Wilson also offers an extra twist on the
last page which I thought unnecessary and by no means wholly convincing. But this is
a minor quibble. The mood of this book is dark, but it is nonetheless a first class crime
novel.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
The Lover by
Laura Wilson
