Past Reason by
Margaret Murphy
hbk out September 99
Published by Macmillan
at £16.99
Jenny Campbell, a foster carer, takes on a difficult case when a traumatised eight-year-old boy is placed in her care. Found by the police he has been wandering the streets wearing only his nightclothes in the early hours of the morning.
The child refuses to speak and suffers from flashbacks that reveal that he has witnessed or been part of a series of brutal events. His unease is particularly evident in the presence of Fraser, Jenny’s husband.
The Campbells begin to receive anonymous ‘phone calls referring to the past adoption of a child of theirs. As they are childless due to medical reasons this causes considerable distress, especially to Fraser.
The identification of the eight year old, the tracing of his mother and estranged father, together with the discovery of his brutally murdered aunt set off a chain of nightmare events. These coupled with the bizarre and unsupportive behaviour of Fraser and his fixation with Connor Harvey tear the structure of Jenny’s world to pieces, so that it can never be the same again.
This, the fourth novel by Margaret Murphy is without doubt a psychological thriller of the highest calibre. Various individual strands are taken, developed and then drawn together to form a complicated plot. The characters are superbly drawn and each individual elicits a different reaction from the reader, whether it be empathy or aversion. Margaret Murphy undoubtedly has a keen eye for detail in her characterisation.
This is a novel that once started is difficult to put down. Margaret Murphy is without a doubt going from strength to strength.
Past Reason by
Margaret Murphy