In Your Face by
Scarlett Thomas
hbk out April 99
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
at £16.99
Lily Pascale is a lecturer in crime fiction who memorably solved a murder in her first outing, Dead Clever. Thanks to that notoriety, an old university friend turns to her for help. Jess is a freelance journalist who specialises in true-life stories for women's magazines. But her latest story has plunged her into hell. Three women she interviewed about their experiences of being stalked have all been murdered on the very day the magazine hit the streets.
But by the time Lily arrives in London, Jess herself has disappeared, apparently without leaving a clue behind her. Undaunted, Lily sets off in pursuit both of her friend and of a killer who is operating to an agenda no-one can guess at. Summoning help from her father's psychologist girlfriend and tabloid hack Sarah, Lily battles through lies and deceit to a final nail-biting triumph.
In Lily, Scarlett Thomas has created an entirely charming heroine for the new Millennium. Though far from perfect -- she smokes, drinks and has a love life best described as troubled -- she manages to be a thoroughly attractive person, neither superwoman nor superbitch. Smart, strong and self-reliant, Lily is irresistible.
(
Val McDermid
- Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill)
In Your Face by
Scarlett Thomas