Simeon's Bride - Softcover

Taylor, Alison G

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140254420 ISBN 13: 9780140254426

Publisher: Penguin, 1996

Synopsis

Here is a remarkable debut. A novel of power and intensity - intricately woven, beautifully written and deeply convincing. This is P.D. James country but utterly original. Alison Taylor has a rare talent. A woman, little more than a skeleton, is found hanging in dense woodland outside Bangor, hands bound behind her back. Detective Chief Inspector Michael McKenna and his colleagues, seeking her identity and her killer, become enmeshed in deceit and half-truths, chasing shadows, scratching the poverty-stricken underbelly of life in an area of spectacular beauty, pursued by the malice of women, McKenna's bored and resentful wife wreaking her own havoc. Jamie Thief, amoral and vicious, a scavenger of human misery, is found with the dead woman's car, and goes into hiding. His death shreds the ugly tapestry of greed and perversion shrouding the woman in the woods, illuminating the darkness of a marriage gone wrong and its tragic consequences. Chief Inspector McKenna investigates the death of a woman found hanging in the woods. The death of the man found with her car illuminates the darkness of a marriage gone wrong and its tragic consequences, while McKenna's wife wreaks her own havoc.

About this title

About the Author

Born into an Anglo-Welsh family, and brought up in rural Cheshire and Derbyshire, Alison Taylor studied architecture before commencing a career in social work and probation. She has been instrumental in exposing the abuse of children in care, and has written a number of papers on childcare and ethics. Resident for many years in North Wales, she is married with two children. Her interests include classical and Baroque music, art and riding. She is currently working on a second novel and researching a biographical study of Beethoven.

From AudioFile

In a coastal city in northern Wales, Detective Chief Inspector Michael McKenna tries to solve a years-old murder, while coping with the disintegration of his marriage. Successful at the former, McKenna finds the latter a losing proposition. Steve Hodson's low, gravelly voice and measured pacing convey the depth of emotion of the taciturn detective with grace and subtlety. The many other characters in the story also come to life, inspiring frustration, fury, humor, or compassion. Particularly skilled at the local dialect, Hodson imparts a delightful realism to the novel's more provincial players, allowing us to see, as well as hear them. His presentation of the philosophical opening and closing passages frames the tale with elegance. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0140254420
• ISBN 13: 9780140254426
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448