Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
London: Corgi, 1995
Description
A tense, twisting thriller perfect for fans of Linda Fairstein. Crown Prosecutor Helen West spends her days fighting for justice in domestic violence cases, so it's no wonder she can't find the energy to clean her own apartment. Helen is thrilled to have found the lovely and sad-eyed Cath, whom she pays to clean for her. But when she notices bruises on Cath's arm, Helen can't stop thinking about what the girl must go home to at night. And when Cath's brother is brutally murdered, Helen is pulled down a dark and disturbing path where violence is the only guarantee.
User reviews
LibraryThing member mrtall
A Clear Conscience is a dense, layered crime novel set in London. Inspector Bailey and his lover/sometimes collaborator Helen the lawyer are embroiled in a series of sordid crimes revolving around bar fights that descend into murder, plus the recurring bouts of wifebeating Helen’s new cleaning
Frances Fyfield writes with confidence and power; the elegance and vividness of her prose recalls P D James – high praise indeed.
The only lack here is the deep, sustaining narrative drive – that delicious sense of needing to know what happens next – that characterizes the best crime novels. Fyfield’s plotting is more allusive and elliptical; events move forward, but jaggedly and often accidentally, much as they do in real life. This is not exactly a flaw, but it kept me from finding this otherwise very fine novel completely compelling.
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lady suffers. The mundane, banal nature of these very human crimes rings true, and the story is concluded well – even if it doesn’t exactly end well.Frances Fyfield writes with confidence and power; the elegance and vividness of her prose recalls P D James – high praise indeed.
The only lack here is the deep, sustaining narrative drive – that delicious sense of needing to know what happens next – that characterizes the best crime novels. Fyfield’s plotting is more allusive and elliptical; events move forward, but jaggedly and often accidentally, much as they do in real life. This is not exactly a flaw, but it kept me from finding this otherwise very fine novel completely compelling.
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LibraryThing member readingwithtea
The lives of friends and colleagues are inextricably and inexplicably linked in this gritty London drama. Cath, cleaning lady to the boisterous and happy Eliot family and to Helen West, Crown Prosecutor with a complicated relationship status, receives terrible beatings from her husband.
Unfortunately, that's about as far as I got into the plot as I gave up at page 102. More than a third of the way into the book I thought there really ought to be a plot going, and if the circumstances are so dire, more of the characters need to be likeable (see Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News).
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Unfortunately, that's about as far as I got into the plot as I gave up at page 102. More than a third of the way into the book I thought there really ought to be a plot going, and if the circumstances are so dire, more of the characters need to be likeable (see Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News).
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Subjects
Awards
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist — 1994)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1994
Physical description
223 p.; 23 cm