Eager to Please

From Publishers Weekly The atmosphere of Ireland is almost palpable in Parsons's strong but unevenly plotted thriller (after Mary, Mary and The Courtship Gift). The beauteous Rachel Beckett shot her husband after a row, and her lover, her husband's adopted brother, Daniel, finished the job. At least that's the story Rachel tells. But no one believes her, and she is sentenced to life in prison. Paroled at the age of 42, she goes home and, while readjusting to life outside, secretly hatches a plot against her former lover, ingratiating herself into his family and restarting their affair, putting to use the dubious lessons learned from her fellow prisoners. Rachel's parole officer has his own agenda, a very sick wife and a guilty conscience. While casting her net over Daniel, Rachel tries to recontact their teenage daughter, Amy, who wants nothing to do with her. When Rachel finally springs her trap and disappears, leaving evidence that Daniel has killed her, he uses Amy to try to draw Rachel out and shows his true colors when the plan backfires. It's an engrossing story, sharply imagined at points; the tender but ambiguous relationship between the parole officer and his wife and Rachel's anguish over her daughter are particularly well executed. But the protagonists are problematic: Rachel is presented as a victim, and her transformation into black widow is too abrupt; Daniel has been made neither so heartless nor so desperate as to put his daughter's life in jeopardy. Even so, Parsons manages to establish a taut narrative of psychological suspense, far superior to the average suspense novel, and more is to be expected from this promising writer. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Rachel Beckett, a talented architect, was convicted of murdering her policeman husband, Martin. After serving 12 years of a life sentence in a Dublin prison, she has been provisionally released and is determined to exact vengeance on her husband's adopted brother, Daniel, whom she believes is the true murderer. Meanwhile, jaded detective Jack Donnelly investigates the murder of Judith Hill, a young woman whom Rachel had befriended in prison. To make matters worse for the parolee, her daughter continues to believe that Rachel is her father's killer and harbors a deep hatred, despite Rachel's attempts to reach out to her. This psychological thriller is the third novel by Dublin-based Parsons (after The Courtship Gift). Although the plot is tightly constructed and suspenseful, the book falters because of the author's overwrought style and Rachel's monomaniacal desire for retribution, which makes her a flat and unlikable character. Recommended where there is demand for thrillers. Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ., ND Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.