- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Orion; New edition edition (7 Dec 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0752816799
- ISBN-13: 978-0752816791
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.9 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,035,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Nothing is more disturbing than a child who commits murder. PI Laura Principal knows Daryll did it, but she wants to know why... 11 year old Daryll Flatt killed his elderly foster mother by dropping a large concrete block from his tree house on to her head. Apparently he was angry about a lost toy, about having to get dressed up for a meeting in town. It doesn't seem like a reason to kill and Daryll's older brother Howard - consumed by Guilt that he wasn't there when Daryll needed him - has to know why the boy acted as he did. Laura principal is on the case and faced by some disturbing questions. And someone with a particular interest in the case is standing in the shadows watching her every move.
About the Author
Michelle Spring was raised on Vancouver Island. She worked for many years as an academic in Cambridge where she lives with her husband and their two children. She has written several academic books. This is her fifth novel.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Howard Flatt's description of the murder was flecked with hesitation: just the facts. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Howard Flatt's description of the murder was flecked with hesitation: just the facts. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was an enjoyable read overall, with an engaging main character. However, it was a bit too gentle for my tastes, I prefer my protagonists to be more hard-nosed and the stories grittier. PI Principal's access to social work staff, Police and GP was totally unrealistic. None of them would have given her the time of day in reality. Spring has created a feisty and amusing character in Principal and, with greater grounding in reality, could be writing excellent crime novels. I loved the scene where Principal was embarrassed to be using her mobile phone in public! How life has changed since 1998!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
CHILD'S PLAY
20 Feb 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is my first Michelle Spring novel, and it is a very well-done effort. It's heavily "British" in its pacing and characterizations, but Spring's prose has verve and bite, sprinkled with some humorous moments as well. Little Darryl - did he really kill his foster mother so viciously? He says he did, and so he's been incarcerated for two years. His older brother approaches PI Laura Principal to find out not if his little brother did the deed, but WHY? Laura's fascination and dedication involve her in some dark family secrets and some other interesting characters. Principal is a fresh heroine, one with a heart and a sense of commitment. The villain is a surprise in some ways and the rationale in its solution quite believable. A good book; will definitely try the remaining ones in the series.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Sensitive handling of a difficult subject
1 April 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Crimes committed by children are a subject we all naturally find disturbing, but this latest instalment in Michelle Spring's Laura Principal series handles the topic with sensitivity, care and real empathy. There is nothing sensationalistic or superficial about this book, and as with the rest of the series, even minor characters emerge as real, well-rounded people. You find yourself guessing - did Daryll do it? Why did he do it? If not him, then who else might have done it and why? As with human nature, nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface, but you are kept in suspense as the plot is tightly controlled and elegantly resolved. My favorite in a series that just gets better and better.
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