From AudioFile
Lives change forever during the crash of the Kent to London train. One passenger uses the crash as an opportunity to hide a murder; another takes the opportunity to leave her past behind. British author Frances Fyfield, who is a soliciter as well as a writer, is known for her involving, tightly written mystery novels. This one is less a traditional mystery than some of her others, but is every bit as involving. Rula Lenska's low-pitched voice is just right for this edgy tale of lives undone and remade. Her narrative reading reflects the action of the story without overdramatizing, and she gives the characters voices that reveal their personalities. Some not so nice, to be sure, but always interesting. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Review
?There are crime writers whom we think of primarily as novelists. There is no one higher on this list than Frances Fyfield. No one understands better the menace of city life, the complicated ambiguities of family love, and the terror of the unknown in place and human personality.? ? P. D. James
?Frances Fyfield is one of the best of the new group of British writers including Minette Walters and Liza Cody ? dark, brilliantly plotted suspense dramas.? ? The Globe and Mail
The Nature of the Beast FROM THE PUBLISHER
Different people react to disasters in different ways. But why would Amy Petty want the world to presume her dead?
Fate is not alone in deciding who lives and who dies after the crash of a train travelling from Kent to London. One passenger uses the opportunity to commit a murder. Another — the blonde and beautiful Amy Petty — uses the accident as an opportunity to leave her life behind....
Is it because Amy's husband is currently embroiled in a libel action against a national newspaper? Douglas Petty, a former barrister, is rich, charismatic and evil tempered: he runs a dog sanctuary in a brutally eccentric manner. Amy is his star witness: without her, his reputation faces ruin. Or maybe it isn't the present that Amy is running from. Maybe it is the past....
The Nature of the Beast is mesmerizing. A brooding thriller of truth, betrayal and human instinct, it is Frances Fyfield at her most thrilling best.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
A crash on a London intercity train leads one woman to walk away from her life and another to doubt that hers is the one she really wants. The latter is a solicitor aiding her employer and married lover in defending a man defamed in the press; the former is the defamed man's wife, desperate to get away from her situation-but not for the obvious reasons. Fyfield's story is, as usual, a bit dark, and her characters are not totally likable, though they tend to show hidden traits that cause the listener to admire them. Rula Lenska reads in a deep voice (sometimes one can forget that a woman is narrating), but her grave tones match the mood. She is fully capable of the dialects and personalities here, and the result is an involving work with some unexpected outcomes. Recommended.-Melody A. Moxley, Rowan P.L., Salisbury, NC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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