A Rage of Innocents by
Kay Mitchell
pbk out September 97
(NEL)
at £5.99
Malminster is the fictional setting for this extremely entertaining and well written novel. It takes place in the North and the story centres around Lucy, a sixteen year old homeless and expectant mother-to-be. With no other option, Lucy is taken by the police to a refuge run by the insidious and snake-like Father Donnelly and ice-maiden Mrs. Carpenter.
Darren and Skeeter are two layabouts who find trouble wherever they go, mainly because they look for it. Skeeter is hapless and totally under the spell of Darren both physically and mentally. They are constantly in transit during which time Darren practices the art of raping and abusing women.
Inspector Morrissey is the man in charge of finding out the namesake of the body in the ditch. A connection is unearthed which concerns Lucy and thus a plot begins to unfold. Lucy is rude, abrasive and ungrateful but extremely appealing as a female protagonist; her short life before the pregnancy has been turbulent and her behaviour can be easily understood when this background comes to light. Also, her fierce protectiveness of her unborn child is endearing, as is her suspicious dislike of the police.
Morrissey's son ends up in a critical condition in intensive care owing to events following unrest in the Asian community in Malminster. A few questions about policing and racism are touched upon alongside the general plot. Similarly, the notion of sexism within the force is raised as a uniformed policewoman is clearly cut out to be in a more senior position. Rosie usually spots the flaw or offers solutions to problems long before some of her male counterparts are able to.
Lucy's innate distrust of almost everyone alerts her to some suspicious goings-on in the refuge, this awareness results in her and her unborn baby's lives being endangered. There are other good characters and more sub-plots to this readable book. At first it seems that there are too many different people and things happening but, after the first few chapters, this is no longer the case as the reader is familiarised with the characters and begins to understand how they are all part of a fuller picture.
I read this book at one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the sharp, often anti-establishment digs, which are usually absent in the police-procedural novel.
