Let me just say that while Ms. Cornwell was once one of my favorite crime novelists, this one sux. I don't need torture and hideous descriptions of child abuse to make a novel enjoyable to me. Quite the contrary. I didn't even finish this one, but turned to the end to see the outcome and then donated this hardcover book to a patient library in a nursing home. Since I bought this book at a clearance sale for $1 at Half Price Books, a used book store, there are apparently other readers who feel the same way I do about Ms. Cornwell's later works: Enuff already! Get a grip, Patricia, or you'd better start saving your huge fortune for your (enforced) retirement. JMO.