Deep Sleep (Helen West Series #3)

by Frances Fyfield

Overview

This gripping psychological maze is perfect for fans of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James.

Pip Carlton is a devoted husband and a highly respected pharmacist, cherished by his loyal customers. When his wife dies in her sleep, with no apparent cause, he is distraught. Comforted by his caring assistant, Pip ignores the rumors about Margaret’s death, relieved that the police seem to have moved on. 

But prosecutor Helen West refuses to believe that Margaret simply slipped into her final slumber. As she probes deeper into the affairs of the neighborhood, she uncovers a viper’s nest of twisted passion, jealous rage, and lethal addictions. 

Then a sudden act of violence erupts, shaking the community, and one lone man, armed with strange love potions, prepares to murder again …

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062303967
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/21/2014
Series:	Helen West Series , #3
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	100
Sales rank:	653,347
File size:	317 KB

About the Author

Frances Fyfield has spent much of her professional life practicing as a criminal lawyer, work that has informed her highly acclaimed novels. She has been the recipient of both the Gold and Silver Crime Writers' Association Daggers. She is also a regular broadcaster on Radio 4, most recently as the presenter of the series Tales from the Stave. She lives in London and in Deal, overlooking the sea, which is her passion.

Editorial Reviews

Equal parts probing character-study and taut psychological thriller, this stylish mystery from Edgar-nominee Fyfield ( A Question of Guilt ) examines the dark heart beating beneath the civilized British exterior of a desperate criminal who nearly manages the perfect murder. While recuperating from an operation in London, beleaguered Crown Prosectur Helen West is catching up on her files when a police inquiry on a closed case gives her pause. Although the cause of death of 46-year-old Margaret Carlton, a pharmacist's wife, was officially deemed natural causes, the local constable was in enough doubt to alert Helen's office. According to her husband, Mrs. Carlton had acquired ``the habit of sniffing chloroform to induce sleep and/or well-being,'' and one night she overdid it. Or did she? The constable's inquiry bothers Helen and she begins her own investigation of the chemist husband, his nubile assistant, the assistant's ex-husband and a neighborhood junkie--all vividly realized individuals. Helen's policeman paramour and partner in detection, Geoffrey Bailey, seen in Not That Kind of Place , begs her to let matters rest this time, but she cannot. As the novel races to its climax, extraordinary revelations unveil human nature at its worst. Mystery Guild selection. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Fyfield's well-textured prose, psychological detailing, and fully human characters once again ( Not That Kind of Place , LJ 3/1/90) form a fully satisfying English mystery. Lawyer Helen West, newly out of hospital, and Detective Chief Inspector Geoffrey Bailey become interested in the ``accidental'' chloroform poisoning death of a chemist's wife. Denizens of the chemist's London neighborhood include a policeman's estranged wife and insecure son as well as a docile but shrewd drug addict, so opportunities for psychological conflict abound. Tensions reach a snapping point with another murder, a bomb threat, and assault. Absorbing and crafted with care, this deserves attention.

Library Journal