PITY THE WRITER whose first novel does unexpectedly well. You can never be so innocent again, and thinking too hard about what you%26rsquo;re doing, and what other people expect, can get in the way. William Brodrick%26rsquo;s The Sixth Lamentation was picked by Richard %26amp; Judy, which had the usual effect on sales. It dealt with guilt, treachery, love and redemption against a background of the Nazi persecution of Jews in France. The main character was a powerful, dying woman with a secret that had come between her and her adult son, making love between them impossible. This time the themes are the same but they are explored in a plot that lacks the resonance of the Holocaust. The woman is Elizabeth Glendinning, QC; her son, Nicholas, is a doctor called back from Australia for her funeral. She has left a series of puzzling instructions for several characters who were able to love her, including Father Anselm, the monk-detective of the earlier novel, who was once a junior barrister in her chambers. He comes to understand that she was determined to bring back into court Graham Riley, a man the two of them defended successfully. Elizabeth%26rsquo;s legacy requires him to track down a prosecution witness, George Bradshaw, now suffering short-term memory loss after a brutal attack. The narrative is divided between the voices of Anselm, George, Riley, his damaged but loving wife, and Elizabeth herself, with the occasional interjection by Nicholas. It moves backwards and forwards in time, teasing the reader with snippets of information and significant imagery. Some of the Christian symbolism is a bit heavy handed. One of the recipients of Elizabeth%26rsquo;s charity has on her wall a portrait of Simon of Cyrene (the gentile who was forced to carry the cross to Golgotha, representing the burdens we place on others%26rsquo; shoulders). Twice when Elizabeth is visiting George, her taxi beeps for her three times (like the cock that crowed for St Peter). What is clear is that this is a novel for readers more interested in Brodrick%26rsquo;s themes than in such questions as: if Elizabeth wanted Riley to answer for his crimes, why didn’t she give Anselm all the facts he needed, instead of scattering them about the darker parts of London and making such a mystery of them? Natasha Cooper%26rsquo;s latest novel, Gagged %26amp; Bound, is published by Simon %26amp; Schuster. Little Brown (March 16), %26pound;14.99; 352pp
amp,Book Tour,Latest Novel,mystery,Novel,plo,prose
Related Articles
No user responded in this post
Leave A Reply
Please Note: Comment moderation maybe active so there is no need to resubmit your comments