The Dead House

Lauren is trying to support her aunt with whom she lives and whose long-term partner has just left for a better model. In addition she is living with the knowledge that her dad killed her sister and mother and tried to smother her too. Not an easy cross to bear. Furthermore, it was Lauren’s evidence that convicted him.

Ten years later Lauren’s life is sent into free-fall when she acts on impulse to re-visit the street where the murders happened. Doubts begin to surface about her seven-year-old’s interpretation of what really happened and that is what drives the psychological heart of this fascinating, unusual thriller, with a quite unexpected twist at the end.

The writing is assured and deftly paced, the characters and their predicaments very identifiable. There’s a subtly, maturely handled love interest and a wry glance at the moral values of modern society.