Lydia Fitzsimmons
has an almost perfect life. Mistress of Avalon, the house she grew up
in, she has a successful, hand-picked husband, Judge Andrew
Fitzsimmons. They have one son, Laurence, the delight of his mother.
The Fitzsimmons have their trials. They’ve lost most of their money
through the machinations of Andrew’s accountant and golfing buddy.
The family is
struggling to keep their impecunious position from the world. Then in
a ploy to get their money back, Lydia and Andrew plan to meet Annie
Doyle at the beach. She’s a heroin addict and appears to have been
blackmailing Andrew. Unexpectedly, as Lydia watches, Andrew strangles
her. Then the cover-up begins.
The killer in this
story is no mystery. The plot revolves around the three Fitzsimmons
and the effect the killing has on their ordered life. Probably the
most disturbing relationship in the story is that between Lydia and
Laurence, a tangled mother-son alliance that becomes more and more
strained as the secret behind Annie’s death threatens the family.
This is a very dark
tale. It’s not so much a murder mystery as a psychological
description of a deteriorating family, particularly mother and son.
The plot is filled with twists keeping you in a state of suspense.
The ending is not a happy one. However, it fits the characters and
the story.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
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