It's not difficult to find Stephen King extolling the virtues of a particular book, but Peter Abrahams is the only writer he describes as his favourite American suspense novelist. And King is not alone in this assessment - more and more people are coming to appreciate the delicious meld of ingenious plot and pithily created characters that is Abrahams' speciality. This novel shows him at his best: an adulterous affair is disclosed, and a brilliant, twisted mind undertakes to inaugurate the perfect crime. Every aspect will be taken into account: opportunity, motive, suspects, alibis and so forth. The four people that Abrahams involves in this chilling narrative are each created with the kind of attention that has distinguished earlier books such as The Fan and Lights Out. Set against the wintry backdrop of an East Coast town, the sense of manipulation - both of the reader and the characters - provides just the kind of frisson mystery readers seek out eagerly.
