Death Duty: Amazon.co.uk: Clare Littleford: Books

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Product Description

Product Description
When she is attacked and knocked unconscious, Nottingham social worker Jo Elliot assumes she was merely unlucky, the random victim of an opportune mugging. But as the days pass, Jo begins to suspect that she was being deliberately targeted.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I like what I don't like, 18 Aug 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Death Duty (Paperback)

Something I particularly liked about this book is the fact that I didn't much like the main character- Jo Elliot, and that that didn't didn't drive me away from her or stop me from empathising. Jo is brave and independant but she has many faults, she is over zealous, blind to the opinions of others to an extent that is almost arrogant, and she doesn't see it. I admire writers who'll take the risk to do that - create characters who are real enough to make uncomfortable reading and still keep us on side.
As with 'Beholden' it's the atmosphere that kept me reading - the undercurrent of menace in ordinary lives.
On a personal note, I quite like reading about places that are familiar to me and I do know the streets Clare Littleford writes about, so I know she has the atmosphere just right, the stark contrast between night and day for one thing, and the way things can feel easy and secure one minute and threatening the next.
I could really see this working as a mini series on TV - if I was an actor I'd love to play the part of Jo Elliot - especially in the final third of the book...

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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First rate psychological thriller, 31 May 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Death Duty (Paperback)

Having read Clare Littleford's first novel - Beholden - I was looking forward to becoming immersed in another subtle, and utterly believable, story of everyday life on the borders of everyone's nightmare. I was not disappointed, and her second novel confirms that she has a distinctive style which sets her apart from the rest of the field. The chilling element of all her fiction is that this could happen to me and you. Her central character - a social worker - is injured in a random mugging. But is it random ? Is there a greater plan, and is she the victim ? The real skill of both these books is to entice the reader to believe two contradictory premises: that the web in which the victim is caught is of their own making, and that it has been weaved by an evil and malicious mind. The reader can never be sure on which side of the line the truth lies until the final pages. Then, with comendable skill, she explains everything. As a writer she reminds me most of the darker side of Daphne de Maurier, a novellist who also challenged her readers to untangle plots which often seemed to live only in the minds of the haunted, until the real culprits were revealed. Unlike de Maurier however Clare Litteford writes about ordinary people, in ordinary cities, living the kind of lives that really can breed paranoia.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious and disturbing, 7 May 2004

By A Customer

Having read Clare Littleford's first novel, I knew to expect a journey that would take me into the minds of some seriously disturbed people. And I wasn't disappointed.
Littleford skilfully plays with you - the reader - leading you into blind alleys and laying down subtle red herrings throughout. This ensures that, when the final revelation comes, you are left with a mixture of astonishment and relief at how the ending explains so many unresolved questions from before.
The novel's main character is a plucky social worker called Jo Elliott. Being the victim of an street attack turns out to be the least of her problems - because the following events suck her into a nightmare scenario where she risks losing everything: her friends, her career and, finally, her mind.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay
I was drawn to this book because Jo, the main character, is a social worker and I am training to be one. Read more

Published 24 months ago by Mandy

2.0 out of 5 stars Hated the main character
By the end of the book I couldn't stand the main character and didn't really care what happened to her. Read more

Published on 22 Feb 2006

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings
I bought this book after reading the rave reviews by other readers, as it sounded as though it was the kind of book that I really enjoy. Read more

Published on 19 Jan 2006 by M. Bingley

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant New Author
I found Death Duty sheer brilliance. The story was gripping, the characters vivid and the suspence was mystifying. The secrets are held right up until the end. Read more

Published on 19 Dec 2005 by DJ Civil

5.0 out of 5 stars The Slow-burn Nightmare
Death Duty will draw you into the mean streets of Nottingham with its cast of brilliantly drawn, believable characters who may or may not be what they seem. Read more

Published on 17 Feb 2005

2.0 out of 5 stars Some great sections, but too long and over-detailed
'Death Duty' is a dark tale of a social worker from Nottingham drawn into the world of two brothers, with disastrous consequences for all involved. Read more

Published on 14 Sep 2004 by Smurfy

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Death Duty (Hardcover)

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