From Robert Barnard, the internationally acclaimed Diamond
Dagger-winning crime writer . . .
With A Fall from Grace, Robert Barnard triumphs once again with a
witty tale of family discord and murder.
Detective Inspector Charlie Peace and his wife, Felicity, are shocked
when Felicity's difficult dad, Rupert Coggenhoe, suddenly announces that
he's moving north to their Yorkshire village. Felicity has never much
liked her father, and to have him as a near-neighbor fills her with
foreboding. The boorish old man has always loved to impress the ladies,
young and old, by exaggerating his modest success as a novelist. True to
form, soon after his move to Slepton Edge he surrounds himself with
adoring females, including a precocious, theatrical teenager named Anne
Michaels. Rupert and Anne could make a lethal combination.
Rumors fly, but Felicity convinces herself that Rupert would do nothing
seriously wrong. He can be annoying and outrageous but he's not a
criminal. She relies on a friend, a doctor who seems to be strangely
aware of everything that's happening in the community, to warn her if he
hears of anything really troubling. She doesn't have long to wait, but
the news is not what she expects. It's worse. A body has been found and
it looks like murder. Stunned by a difficult reality, Felicity is even
more shocked to discover that she, herself, may be a suspect.
This is one criminal investigation that's much too close to home for
Charlie Peace. He's not officially on the case, but he uses his copper's
instincts and a husband's heart to find a killer and to discover anew
the meaning of family.
Praised for his "perfect pitch, exquisite pacing, and meticulous
plotting" (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times), Robert Barnard proves
yet again that he is one of the great masters of mystery.
