The Judgement of Strangers: Book 2 (The Roth Trilogy) - Softcover

Taylor, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006496547 ISBN 13: 9780006496540

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

‘Complex, with lots of sinister implications… moves the traditional crime novel on to some deeper level of exploration’ Jane Jakeman, Independent

It is 1970. David Byfield, a widowed parish priest with a dark past and a darker future, brings home a new wife to Roth. Throughout the summer, the consequences of the marriage reverberate through a village now submerged in a sprawling London suburb.

Blinded by lust, Byfield is oblivious to the dangers that lie all about him: the menopausal churchwarden with a hopeless passion for her priest; his beautiful, neglected teenage daughter Rosemary; and the sinister presence of Frances Youlgreave – poet, opium addict and suicide – whose power stretches beyond the grave.

Soon the murders and blasphemies begin. But does the responsibility lie in the present or the past? And can Byfield, a prisoner of his own passion, break through to the truth before the final tragedy destroys what he most cherishes?

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 is 1970. David Byfield, a widowed parish priest with a dark past and a darker future, brings home a new wife to Roth. Throughout the summer, the consequences of the marriage reverberate through a village now submerged in a sprawling London suburb.

Blinded by lust, Byfield is oblivious to the dangers that lie around him: the menopausal churchwarden with a hopeless passion for her priest; his beautiful, neglected teenage daughter Rosemary; and the sinister presence of Francis Youlgreave – poet, opium addict and suicide – whose power stretches beyond the grave.

Soon the murders and the blasphemies begin. But does the responsibility lie in the present or the past? And can Byfield, a prisoner of his own passion, break through to the truth before the final tragedy destroys what he most cherishes?

Tense, brooding and atmospheric, 'The Judgement of Strangers' is the second novel in Andrew Taylor's Roth Trilogy, following on from the acclaimed 'The Four Last Things'.

"The author knows precisely how to wield suspense"
'Independent on Sunday'

"Tells of dark deed in a commuter village, where the past is wickedly stirring …Taylor writes well and persuasively."
'Literary Review'

"Complex, with lots of sinister implications . . . moves the traditional crime novel on to some deeper level of exploration"
'Independent'

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0006496547
• ISBN 13: 9780006496540
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320