The Office of the Dead: Book 3 (The Roth Trilogy) - Hardcover

Taylor, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002325594 ISBN 13: 9780002325592

Publisher: Collins Crime, 2000

Synopsis

The final volume in the acclaimed Roth Trilogy, which, like an archaeological dig, strips away the layers of a psychopath’s history: ‘Taylor has established a sound reputation for writing tense, clammy novels that perceptively penetrate the human psyche’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

It’s 1958, and the party’s over for Wendy Appleyard: she finds herself penniless, jobless and on the brink of divorce. Who better to come to her rescue than her oldest friend, Janet Byfield?

So Wendy goes to stay with Janet, who seems to have everything Wendy lacks: a handsome husband, a lovely little daughter, Rosie, and a beautiful home in the Cathedral Close of Rosington. David Byfield is on the verge of promotion, and Janet is the perfect wife for an ambitious young clergyman.

But perfection has always been dangerous, and gradually the idyll sours. Old sins come to haunt the present and breed new sins in their place. The shadow of death seeps through the Close, and with it comes the double mystery stretching back to turn-of-the-century Rosington, to a doomed poet-priest called Francis Youlgreave.

Only Wendy, the outsider looking in, glimpses the truth. But can she grasp its dark and twisted logic in time to prevent the coming tragedy.

The Office of the Dead is a chilling novel of crime and retribution, and is the third volume of Andrew Taylor’s stunning and acclaimed Roth Trilogy.

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Taylor is the author of a number of crime novels, including the ground-breaking Roth Trilogy, which was adapted into the acclaimed drama Fallen Angel, and the historical crime novels The Ashes of London, The Silent Boy, and The American Boy, a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and a 2005 Richard & Judy Book Club Choice.

He has won many awards, including the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award (the only author to win it three times) and the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger.

From the Back Cover

It's 1958, and the party's over for Wendy Appleyard: she finds herself penniless, jobless and on the brink of divorce. So she runs to her oldest friend, Janet Byfield, who seems to have everything Wendy lacks: a handsome husband, a lovely little daughter, Rosie, and a beautiful home in the Cathedral Close of Rosington. David Byfield is on the verge of promotion, and Janet is the perfect wife for an ambitious young clergyman.

But perfection has always been dangerous, and gradually the idyll sours. Old sins come to haunt the present and breed new sins in their place. The shadow of death seeps through the Close, and with it comes a double mystery stretching back to turn-of-the-century Rosington, to a doomed poet-priest opium addict called Francis Youlgreave.

Only Wendy, the outsider looking in, glimpses the truth. But can she grasp its dark twisted logic in time to prevent the coming tragedy?

'The Office of the Dead' is a chilling novel of crime and retribution, and is the third volume of Andrew Taylor's stunning and acclaim Roth Trilogy.

Andrew Taylor is the award-winning author of a number of crime novels, including the Dougal series, the Lydmouth books and 'The Barred Window.' He and his wife live in the Forest of Dean.

The first two books in the Roth Trilogy, 'The Four Last Things' and 'The Judgement of Strangers, ' are now out in paperback

PRAISE FOR ANDREW TAYLOR

"Taylor is marvellous and devilishly clever"
FRANCIS HEGARTY, 'Mail on Sunday'

"A major thriller talent"
TIME OUT

'The Judgement of Strangers'

"Complex, with lots of sinister implications…moves the traditional crime novel on to some deeper level of exploration"
INDEPENDENT

"Tells of dark deeds in a commuter village, where the past is wickedly stirring…Taylor writes well and persuasively."
LITERARY REVIEW

'The Four Last Things'

"A finely crafted story of suspense"
MARCEL BERLINS, 'The Times'

"Andrew Taylor digs deep to explore the roots of sex, violence and religion. This is a fine thriller, with clues complex enough to tax Morse"
REGINALD HILL

'The Barred Window'

"Classically paced and proportioned…A slow burner, most cunningly constructed, which plays havoc with your sympathies"
LITERAY REVIEW

"An intelligent, exciting psychological drama…A powerful feeling of something nasty just around the corner prevails…An unusual achievement"
DAILY MAIL

Edition details

• Publisher: Collins Crime
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002325594
• ISBN 13: 9780002325592
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352