Part of Helen West, book 5
First published 2001
Helen West prosecutes domestic violence cases in the English courts, but the brutality she fights in courtrooms follows her home. Her cleaning woman arrives with fresh bruises, trapped in an abusive marriage that mirrors the cases Helen sees daily. The violence escalates when the woman's brother turns up dead, murdered under circumstances that suggest this is no random crime. Helen finds herself drawn into a web where her professional expertise becomes personal survival. The prosecutor who built her career seeking justice for battered women must now navigate the same dangerous territory her clients face. As the investigation deepens, Helen discovers that the line between her work life and private world has vanished completely. The murder case forces her to confront how domestic violence destroys families and communities in ways that extend far beyond what any courtroom can address.
Genres: domestic-fiction, abuse, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, personal-becomes-professional
Setting: England
272 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: domestic-violence, murder, violence