Bøker av Clare Francis

It is 1946, and the eve of the harshest winter for a hundred years. Servicemen are pouring home from the war to a Britain beset by stringent shortages and a desperate housing crisis. Anxieties are heightened by the unexpected arrival of the soldiers of the Second Polish Corps, whose refusal to go back to Poland is regarded with impatience and suspicion.As anti-Polish propaganda reaches its height, newly demobbed Billy Greer reluctantly agrees to take on a young Polish veteran named Wladyslaw Malinowski as a labourer on his uncle's withy farm in the heart of the Somerset wetlands.Stella, the local schoolteacher, has been waiting for the return of Lyndon Hanley, a hero of the Burma Campaign, but increasingly finds herself drawn to the beguiling Wladyslaw.As the country is brought to its knees by blizzards and hardships, the tensions of post-war life lead to mistrust, accusation and ultimately death.'A very fine novel indeed' Independent 'A deeply atmospheric novel' Daily Mail 'The characters' world envelops the reader completely' Sunday Times 'An atmospheric, powerful, moving and dramatic tale . . . It's terrific' Bookseller

Lawyer Hugh Gwynne is facing his most difficult court case. His client Tom Deacon is claiming damages for post-traumatic stress after a car accident in which he witnessed the death of his young daughter. It seems certain Tom will win, but then Hugh receives an anonymous letter which throws him into an impossible dilemma.For Hugh the dilemma is intensified by the contrast between their lives: Tom tormented by flashbacks, and a broken marriage; Hugh with what he sees as a blessed and rewarding existence.Then one night Hugh's life changes for ever. His happiness is snatched away, and he, like Tom, must face a lifetime of troubling memories.'An expertly rendered tale with psychological tension, pyrotechnics, courtroom drama, good old-fashioned detection and some well-deployed red herrings' Guardian 'Francis draws you in and keeps you guessing' Woman & Home 'The plot intricate and the solution ingenious. A very good read' Scotsman 'Devilishly clever . . . this one really was unputdownable' Daily Mail

In the chill of the Cold War, two Norwegians are shot dead after straying into Soviet wilderness, killings that will bind together three people in a web of treachery and passion: Halvard Starheim, veteran explorer, torn by the deaths of his friends and his love for a beautiful woman, Ragna Johansen, the exquisitely attractive widow of one of the dead men on a desperate search for love and fulfilment, Rolf Berg, brilliant Norwegian journalist whose secret other life holds the key to a deadly conspiracy. The mission for the truth will lead them to a final confrontation in the freezing wastes of an Arctic wolf winter . . . 'A magnificent read. Move over Frederick Forsyth and Hammond Innes' Sunday Telegraph 'The classically structured spy thriller has rarely been better done' New York Times

Out of the savagery of the Paris barricades there was born the most sinister of all the terrorist groups of the late 1960s. Secretly funded by Moscow, trained in subversion and assassination in Italy, the Crystal Faction came to England. To wage war . . . For Nick Ryder of Special Branch, finding and infiltrating the cell presented a daunting challenge. Hampered by the deviousness of his own superiors and lack of cooperation from MI5, he was drawn slowly but inexorably into a tangled web of sex, drugs, murder, intrigue and lost innocence. And at the centre, Gabrielle Schroeder, leader of the Crystal Faction. A tough, daring, utterly ruthless woman for whom killing had become a pleasure . . . 'The climax is agonizing, and made only too horribly likely by the author's careful groundwork and ability to maintain suspense' Books and Bookmen

For businessman Hugh Wellesley, the violent waking nightmare begins with the sparse report in the morning newspaper. A woman's body recovered from the River Dart in Devon . . . identified as that of Sylvie Mathieson . . . the corpse stabbed and bound . . . Should he admit that she had once been his lover? Or let others discover the truth for themselves? Sylvie had always been exotic, unconventional, alluring. Now with her death comes an unexpected betrayal - as another truth emerges which will take even Hugh by surprise. 'Nail-biting . . . the sort of suspense-charged book that has your eyes still glued to it at four in the morning . . . a gripping good read' Daily Mail 'Plenty of suspense and a satisfyingly black denouement' The Times 'Clare Francis has serious crime-writing talent' Mail on Sunday

Glen Ashard - idyllic Scottish home of ex-rock star Nick Mackenzie and his exotic wife Alusha. A haven of peace and security after all the years on the road. Until the day a small plane with a deadly chemical cargo flies off course . . . In the tragic aftermath, Daisy Field, environmental campaigner, picks up the trail. Abrasive and idealistic, she's determined to fight the 'profits before safety' attitude of the agrochemical industry. But to win she needs Nick's millions, and Nick is facing difficulties of his own . . . From the wilds of Scotland to the corridors of power in London and Chicago, from Madison Square Garden to a seedy security firm in south London, Requiem pulls Daisy into a struggle against apathy, sabotage and dirty tricks . . . 'She writes with passion . . . undoubtedly her most ambitious novel to date' Sunday Express 'Moving . . . a great story' Mail on Sunday 'Pacy . . . intriguing' The Times

Joe, struggling to survive his job in a high-powered law firm, is faced with the challenge of finding his childhood friend, Jenna, who has been missing for four years. But has she disappeared through choice? Or is she under the powerful influence of her husband, the restless, troubled Chetwood? For Joe, the search is a matter of duty, but also of conscience - for he introduced them to each other, he was enthralled by them both . . . Helped by his prickly girlfriend, Sarah, Joe manages to find the beautiful, faded Jenna, only to realize too late that he has set some terrible events in motion . . .

Catherine Galitza has been badly injured by an intruder in her own home. In the months before, there had been a string of nuisance calls. Are the events connected? Has someone been stalking her? As Catherine begins her slow and painful recovery, two men seem intent on uncovering the truth: her husband's business partner, the intense, prickly Simon Jardine, who harbours an almost obsessive devotion to Catherine; and the self-made Irish hotelier Terry Devlin, once a benign figure in Catherine's childhood, now with a reputation for ruthlessness. But which of these men has Catherine's real interests at heart? Then the police arrest and charge a suspect. Yet Catherine's watcher is with her. And she has no way of knowing who she can trust. 'Crime novels with action to keep you guessing until the very end' Daily Mail 'Clare Francis has serious crime-writing talent' Mail on Sunday

Grace Dearsden is beautiful, clever and admired. The last person to disappear into the lonely Norfolk marshes in the black depths of winter. Seven days . . . and still no trace. With police investigations stalled, old family friend Alex O'Neill returns to the haunting landscape of her childhood. And immediately beings to uncover disturbing new clues. Each one draws her closer to a family's tragic secret . . . 'At once we are in Ruth Rendell territory: an eerie setting, a web of adultery, deceit, near-murderous envy and cordial detestation . . . a kind of East Anglian Rebecca' Daily Telegraph 'A Dark Devotion is a treat . . . a crime novel with action to keep you guessing until the very end' Daily Mail