London. Women are being sexually assaulted. Out of half a
dozen who have lodged complaints, all have refused to
further pursue the matter, and two are dead. Prosecutor
Helen West is on the case. Helen is soon to be married to
her long-time boyfriend, Senior Police Officer Bailey, when
his friend, Detective Sergeant Ryan is arrested on
suspicion of rape. The accuser, 17 year-old Shelley Pelmore
claims he hit and abused her. DS Ryan is suspended from
his police duties but is free to go until more evidence
comes up. Handsome DS Ryan, is well-liked by his colleagues
but is also a known womanizer.
Rape and sexual assaults of all kinds are too often
dismissed by the Crown Prosecution Service, if there is a
smidgeon of reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the
perpetrator, as is the case with DS Ryan, so as not to waste
the taxpayers' money. Helen's assistant, Rose, tells her in
confidence that she would like her to have a chat with her
cousin who has been sexually molested and needs someone to
talk to. Helen reluctantly speaks with Anna. Anna is a
homely, plump woman who secretly pines after a doctor at the
clinic where she works; a doctor who presents some peculiar
bedside manners...then Shelley Pelmore is found dead.
WITHOUT CONSENT A Helen West Mystery, as the title
implies, is about rape but deals mostly with the
psychological side of this horrendous crime and offers very
few graphic details. The chapters chillingly begin with
excerpts from British law, which coincides with the
storyline to make the matter even more bone-chilling.
The female characters involved in the plotline are an
adventurous teenager, a lonely single woman, and a good
Catholic wife. All the characters in this story are people
we know, people we work with, everyday people. Their stories
converge in a tightly plotted suspense that will leave you
turning pages as fast as you can.
Frances Fyfield has a fine eye for detail. The character
development is superb, and as befits British mysteries, the
plot leads to a somewhat unexpected conclusion. At times, I
was gasping in wonderment at the spectacular beauty of the
prose, as well as at how such magnificent writing could make
me shudder in disgust, recoil in horror, and bring me to the
edge of tears, because it paints a painful subject in so
many nuances. I seldom read a book in one sitting, but I did
WITHOUT CONSENT, a most fabulous read!
A tense, twisting thriller perfect for fans of Linda Fairstein.
Prosecutor Helen West's relationship with police officer
Geoffrey Bailey is becoming more serious, but the couple is
at odds because Bailey's protégé, Sergeant Ryan, is
suspected of rape. As the evidence slowly mounts against
Ryan, West and Bailey examine the seemingly open-and-shut
case; a terrible crime warrants justice regardless of their
feelings toward Ryan. But as they dig deeper, a new suspect
emerges—one who possesses a cold-blooded intuition about
women. West and Bailey quickly find themselves trying to
clear Ryan's name and avenge a series of crimes with no
evidence.
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