Fear of Drowning - Softcover

Turnbull, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 000651362X ISBN 13: 9780006513629

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

Synopsis

‘Few can rival Turnbull for dire authenticity’ Observer

A middle-aged couple, Max and Amanda Williams, disappear. They enjoyed a modest but comfortable lifestyle, seemed to have no enemies, and had two adult, successful children.

Detective Inspector George Hennessey of the City of York Police instinctively feels from the outset that there has been foul play, and his suspicions are confirmed when the bodies of the missing couple are found in a shallow grave. But the discovery of the bodies is only the beginning in a case that will test the police to their limits. For a start, it appears that no one could benefit from their murder as they had lost a fortune in a short space of time. And then both, apparently unknown to each other, had been involved in illicit liaisons, one sexual, the other financial. Added to this is the strange behaviour of the couple’s son and a mystery in the family’s past.

Hennessey, a man haunted by tragedy in his own life, finds the road to a solution littered with conflicting clues and misinformation. From the position of having no suspects at all, he soon finds there are all too many people who wished the Williamses harm.

A compelling and grittily authentic novel from the author of the acclaimed P-Division series.

About this title

Review:

Peter Turnbull's P Division novels have gleaned a considerable following, with their depiction of Glasgow's mean streets. With Fear of Drowning, we are in the superficially more sedate city of York. However, Detective Inspector George Hennessy soon discovers that murderous intentions can lurk beneath the most placid of exteriors. When a middle-aged couple, Max and Amanda Williams, disappear and are later found murdered in a shallow grave. Although no-one appeared to wish them harm, when Hennessy digs deeper into their lifestyle and heirs, he discovers some startling facts: both of the partners appeared to have illicit liaisons with other people; one of a sexual nature, the other financial. And as the investigation fastens on the disturbing behaviour of the Williams' son, Hennessy is soon encountering a host of suspects and dark mystery from the past. Retaining the salty authenticity of his P division novels, Turnbull ensures that his tightly-plotted narrative moves with considerable speed towards its satisfyingly astringent finale.--Barry Forshaw

Review:

‘I can think of no other writer who so vividly captures the atmosphere of hopeless urban menace’
The Times

‘Engrossingly readable’
Guardian

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 000651362X
• ISBN 13: 9780006513629
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176