From Publishers Weekly
A hot, beautiful summer in Essex provides the background for Trevor's latest novel, in which three deaths occur and people from all of England's social classes interact in unexpected ways. Thaddeus Davenant, the penurious descendant of an illustrious family, marries Letitia Iveson for her money but learns to appreciate her gentle goodness. When she dies in a freak accident, he's left with their infant daughter. After his interviews with nanny applicants fail to produce a candidate, his mother-in-law volunteers to move into Quincunx House to care for Georgina. But Thaddeus has unwittingly introduced evil into his household. Devastated when she is not hired as Georgina's nanny, desperate, love-starved Pettie, brought up in a foster home where she was sexually abused, becomes obsessed with the life she imagines she would live with Thaddeus and concocts a plan to remove Mrs. Iveson from the scene. Meanwhile, Thaddeus is forced to come to the aid of his former mistress, a lower-class woman whose illness and death coincide with his other crises. Trevor's insight into human nature and his dexterity in depicting characters from the lower strata of society are again displayed in this mesmerizing story. Pettie, like the heroine of Felicia's Journey (1995), has neither a consoling family nor inner resources to sustain her. The contrasts between Quincunx House and the Morning Star youth home, and between the genteel stoicism of the upper classes and the desperation of those with nothing to lose, are stunningly clear. As usual, Trevor's prose is meticulous and restrained, and surprises resonate after their quiet disclosure. His message?that life is cruel because death is random, but for some, life's cruelty is such that death is a balm?is conveyed with the ease of a master storyteller and humane observer.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Master storyteller Trevor's (After Rain, LJ 9/15/96) new novel is a suspenseful portrait of a tragic death and the consequences it brings. After the sudden death of his wife, Thaddeus Davenant must make arrangements for the care of his baby daughter. His mother-in-law, Mrs. Iveson, guides him as he advertises and interviews for a nanny. When a suitable candidate can't be found, Mrs. Iveson offers to fill the role herself. Another death and the escalating intrusions of Pettie, one of the rejected applicants, shatter the quiet life they have started to rebuild, forcing permanent changes. Trevor draws his characters using subtle lines, letting the reader see inside their minds to convey their troubled psychological depths. Another winner from Trevor.
-?Dianna Moeller, WLN, Lacey, WACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
