- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Collins Crime (4 Sep 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007106270
- ISBN-13: 978-0007106271
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,222,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In books such as Bloody Instructions and Dead for a Ducat the talented Simon Shaw has been doing considerably more than carving out a nice line in Shakespearian titles. Marrying the cold-eyed psychological intensity of Ruth Rendell to a scalpel-sharp observation of the social scene, Shaw's speciality has been a series of elaborately choreographed danses macabres between his characters. In Killing Grace, he adds a new dimension to his devious art: the motives of his three central characters unfold in a continually disorientating fashion, constantly inviting the reader to think they have all the necessary bearings, only to throw the compass away.
The charismatic Lewis has an irresistible fascination for women, and, as he works as a builder, he is fully able to avail himself of the houses, beds and sexual charms of his clients' wives. But his pleasant philandering is starting to lose its charm: he has no money, and he's finding it more difficult to observe his primary rule--never get involved. But the captivating Julie forces him to break his code, and he is still seeing her long after he has finished the job on her house. Peter McGovern could not be more different. He's rich, and as unprepossessing as Lewis is attractive. But Julie is his wife, and when the two men meet by chance over a game of pool, all three lives will shortly be changed irrevocably. Mixed into this dangerous brew is the deceptively angelic Grace, whose fragile good looks conceal a ruthless sensibility and an acerbic tongue. When she becomes involved with both men, the outcome for one or more of the characters will have bloody consequences. Quite the most striking thing about Shaw's smoothly amoral tale is its dispassionate telling: Shaw never nudges the reader but guides us inexorably through a narrative that becomes ever more sinister. And however reptilian his characters, we remain transfixed. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘Simon Shaw is one of the very best of our crime-fiction writers’
Sunday Telegraph
‘Simon Shaw’s grasp of the psychological possibilities of bad behaviour is as impressive as that of Ruth Rendell’
Literary Review
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I did enjoy this book,its pace and twists kept up the suspense right to the end .My only thought was how did it get its title ,anyone who has read this book may also wonder it should not be called Killing Grace but maybe ,Killing .............. Now that would be telling. enjoy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having read and enjoyed all of the Philip Fletcher books, (even though they are often hard to get hold of)I was a bit disappointed that this book lacked the dark humour of previous novels. I did enjoy it, but it was much darker than I expected.
Format:Paperback
This is not a book for me, upon reflection. It is meant to be a psychological thriller according to the blurb but I find it too intense, too involved in unnecessary detail which, for me, slowed down what would otherwise have been an interesting thriller.
The storyline is not new. A wronged husband sets out to have her lover take the blame for her death/murder.
And then, after quite a few pages, almost half the book, actually, along comes a feisty PI Grace Cornish. This does liven up the book to say the least and we begin to lose the input of the first character - the builder Lewis - as Grace sets out to determine how the wife was killed. Guildford must be an easy-going place to live if Grace's actions are symptomatic of the residents there.
The killer, for me, is just not potrayed as evil enough although Grace has her work cut out dealing with his attempts to bump her off, too. Whether he succeeds will be for the reader to discover; after all, the title says it all........
The storyline is not new. A wronged husband sets out to have her lover take the blame for her death/murder.
And then, after quite a few pages, almost half the book, actually, along comes a feisty PI Grace Cornish. This does liven up the book to say the least and we begin to lose the input of the first character - the builder Lewis - as Grace sets out to determine how the wife was killed. Guildford must be an easy-going place to live if Grace's actions are symptomatic of the residents there.
The killer, for me, is just not potrayed as evil enough although Grace has her work cut out dealing with his attempts to bump her off, too. Whether he succeeds will be for the reader to discover; after all, the title says it all........
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Gripping read right until the end!!
I am relatively new to crime stories but this is probably one of the best books I have ever read & I had great difficulty in putting it down!! Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2004
QUINTESSENTIAL ENGLISH CRIME DRAMA
An easy to read well-paced story: the main characters being quintessentially English such that I could imagine them being played out in a typical BBC crime drama. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2003 by Damian of Clitheroe
Typical 'Little England' Noir Drama
An easy to read well paced story; the main characters being quintessentially English such as one could imagine them being played out in a BBC crime drama. Read more
Published on 29 July 2003 by Damian of Clitheroe
thrilling stuff
Good pacy thriller with a sexy and original heroine. Loved it all the way through especially the way it hurtles towards a dramatic conclusion. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2000 by Cantabile
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