Gagged and Bound by
Natasha Cooper
pbk out July 05
(Simon Schuster)
at £10.99
The law of libel is a tricky subject, and one in which barrister Trish Maguire is
no expert. But despite herself she becomes embroiled in a particularly
complex case. Her Head of Chambers, confronted by a weeping friend, enlists
Trish's sympathetic ear; the friend, biographer Bee Bowman, has unwittingly
used the nickname of a new member of the House of Lords – and the noble
peer is suing. Trish agrees to read first of all the biography and then the
diaries of the book's subject, and she is drawn into investigating the
backgrounds of both the litigious Lord Tick (what an excellent name for him!)
and tragic Jeremy Marton whose sad story Bee has written.
But at the same time (for nothing is simple) Trish's friend Detective Inspector
Caro Lyalt has a dreadful dilemma which, of course, she confides in Trish.
She has been short-listed for the job of her dreams, but believes that she has
proof that her chief rival is in the pay of the Slabbs (again, what a wonderful
name – positively Dickensian), a gang who seem to surpass the Krays in their
reach, grasp and general dreadfulness. (The title of the book cleverly refers
not only to codes of silence and libel cases, but also to the Slabbs' preferred
method of torture and murder. A merry bunch). Caro knows that if she reveals
what she knows, it will be viewed as an attempt to scupper her rival – but
what if the whole business has been set up to test her? Trish investigates (of
course) and places not only her own safety but that of her paragon of a young
brother in jeopardy. Her work suffers, and her relationship with her lover
George hits a huge rock.
But of course Trish doesn't relinquish either case (we wouldn't have a novel if
she did) and we have to admire her tenacity in the face of all the concomitant
perils. The two cases are resolved more or less successfully, although there is
a very shocking tailpiece to the story, and Trish Maguire's status as a superior
successor to Sara Woods' anguished Antony Maitland is confirmed.
Gagged and Bound by
Natasha Cooper
