Customer Reviews
Respectable page turner - By: hw, 30 Nov 2008 
The eventsin this novel are triggered when academic Jonathan Hughes writes a book on miscarriages of justice. Responding to a letter about one of the cases, Hughes finds himselfin Bournemouth where he eventually teams up with local councillor George (Georgina) Gardenerin an attempt to reopen the case of Howard Stamp, a barely literate young man who was convicted of the brutal murder of his grandmotherin 1970.
Before long, a series of curious events turn their attention away from Stamp & towards teenager Cill Trevelyan who disappeared from the same council estate only a few days before the murder. Are the events of 2003 & 1970 connected? Was the case of the missing schoolgirl connected to the old woman's death? Are there too many coincidences?
This is a full bodied "cold case" mystery which lays bare the dangers & complexities of life for teenagers on a sink estatein the late 60s & early 70s. The scenario makes the amateur sleuthing of this particular detective pairing plausible as, without access to police resources, they are forced to rely on old fashioned observation & deduction.
Although written mainlyin novel form, the text is occasionally interspersed with newspaper extracts, police statements, letters & emails: the latter sometimes slightly unconvincing. Otherwise, a respectable page-turner - certainly a good choice for a long train journey.
endless repetition - By: Peter Stephenson, 25 Oct 2008 
This overlong book covers the same ground endlessly, yet still I couldn't get a sense of the chronology. If the middle third were removed the book would still make sense. We seem to cover the same points & like another reviwer, I almost gave up as I really didn't care whodunnit. The gloom is unrelenting with an occasional attempt at humour which is quite unconvincing. Disappointing for this author.
Disordered Minds - By: Rich, 28 Apr 2008 
Interesting characters though the plot hook is not as strong asin her other novels. Some editing would have helped as the pace of the novel is quite uneven. The climax is not so much built towards as arrived at.
Not Bad - By: J.Flood, 05 Jul 2007 Troubled, young man, Howard Stamp is convicted of the murder of his grandmother, Grace,in 1970. He diesin prison three years later. Anthropologist, Dr. Jonathan Hughes, is writing a book on injustice, & believes Stamp's case is worth re-examining. Local Councillor, George Gardener, also believes Stamp to be innocent.
When Hughes & Gardener meet up to discuss Howard Stamps's case, it opens up a can of worms, & links become apparent, between Stamp's case, & the disappearance of a thirteen year old school girl, a few days prior, to the murder.
This novel is pretty good, as the events of what happened backin 1970, slowly unfold, chapter by chapter. You are left guessing as to who is the murder/murderers, & their motives, throughout the book. Although, I have to admit, I thought the ending, could have been a bit more complete.
Gripping - By: Kelvin Hanratty, 16 Jul 2005 
As with all her Books, Minette excels herself. Gripping, engrossing, unputdownable!
