On Edge - Softcover

Holland, A V

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1500878359 ISBN 13: 9781500878351

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

Synopsis

This story starts with the life of a man whose family were deeply involved in the conflict in Ireland in the early years of the Twentieth century. A close companion of Michael Collins, a prominent figure in the IRA at the time, he escaped to France following Collins' death. He marries a French woman and they have a son, Sean, but his wife dies and Sean's father returns to Ireland leaving the child in France to be raised by his grandmother. Educated to be a priest, Sean loses his faith before ordination and studies maths and chemistry at university where he meets Ulster-born Elsa. When Elsa becomes pregnant with Sean's child, she returns to Northern Ireland where Sean occasionally visits her and their son. Once qualified as a lecturer, Sean secures a position in Dublin where he meets and marries Maria. Despite his marriage and young daughter, he continues to visit Elsa in secret but when she marries an Ulsterman, he discovers that his wife and Sean are still lovers. A jealous man, he wreaks his revenge on Sean who, following a series of unfortunate events, is eventually persuaded to 'work' for the IRA. In time, Sean and Maria split. In a effort to rekindle their marriage, Maria becomes pregnant for a second time but for Sean, there is nothing left to save and they break up for a final time. Glyn is the daughter of parents who were killed in an accident when she was young, leaving her to be brought up by reluctant relatives. When we meet her, she is a semi-alcoholic teenager who catches the eye of a wealthy barrister. He takes her home and eventually, they marry but it doesn't last and she goes to live in Paris where she meets Sean. He is back lecturing at the university and Sean and Glyn start living together, dividing their time between Paris and Brittany. Sean's line of work takes him away occasionally, ostensibly to pick up and discuss manuscripts he translates for an agent. When his daughter comes to spend some weeks with them in summer, he is away when Glyn receives a call from the girl's mother, Sean's estranged wife. There is a family emergency and Glyn is required to bring Frances to London, which she does. This action has consequences.

About this title

About the Author:

Peter Lovesey is the author of more than thirty highly praised mystery novels and has been awarded the CWA Gold and Silver Daggers and the Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement, as well as many US honors. He lives in West Sussex, England.

Review:

Praise for On the Edge

“[A] vivid postwar environment that confers plausibility, ingenious plot twists that heighten the suspense and two stunning character studies that confound our facile presumptions about women who kill.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Lovesey is one of the very best of the current generation of crime writers and he controls his plot like clockwork—everything timed to precision so that the final uncertainty is resolved just as the bell tolls.”
—London Evening Standard

“Brilliant is the only word for veteran Peter Lovesey’s latest venture into the macabre . . . A whip-crack pace, gasps all the way, and yet another winner for Lovesey.”
—Scotland on Sunday

“Never has Lovesey’s wizardry been so effective as in this tale of the duped and the duper . . . The story dodges from one unguessable outcome to the next.”
—Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Peter Diamond series

“I’m jealous of everyone discovering Lovesey and Diamond for the first time—you have a wonderful backlist to catch up on. Me, all I can do is wait for the next book.”
—Sara Paretsky

"These erudite and wondrously witty books are unlike any police procedural you've ever read."
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Thickly textured, amusing, unpredictably mixing puzzle and procedural . . . One of the best.”
—Los Angeles Times
 
“Witty . . . A perfectly realized murder mystery.”
—The Wall Street Journal
 
“Extremely stylish, lighter than air . . . Utterly surprising.”
—Newsweek

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1500878359
• ISBN 13: 9781500878351
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 404