Strange Children

by Kate Charles

Overview

Married to the perfect man, and with a baby on the way, motherless Tessa looks forward to getting to know her new mother-in-law. But before that can happen, Linda Nicholls is murdered, and Tessa is determined to find out why.

Her quest for answers plunges her into a nightmare world of secrets, where nothing is as it seems, and her own life - and the life of her unborn child - are in danger...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781405523479
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	11/30/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	789 KB

About the Author

Kate Charles, a past Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and the Barbara Pym Society, is American by birth but has lived in England for many years. A former parish administrator, she sets her books against the colourful backdrop of the Church of England.

She has been co-organiser of the annual St. Hilda's Crime and Mystery Conference in Oxford since its beginnings in 1994 and was awarded the George N. Dove Award for her 'outstanding contribution to the serious study of mystery and crime fiction'. She lives on the English side of the Welsh borders with her husband and their Border Terrier.

Editorial Reviews

Charles (Unruly Passions; Evil Angels Among Them) departs from her popular series of ecclesiastical mysteries with this peculiar tale of blind love and murder set in contemporary London. When meek and gangly Tessa Rowan attends her ex-lover's wedding, she is startled to find herself seated next to Rob Nicholls, the bride's ex-boyfriend. Tessa and Rob hit it off, and even though Tessa knows very little about this charming, enigmatic man, she marries him a mere two weeks later. It is only after Tessa is several weeks pregnant that she begins to wonder about Rob's past namely, why he hates his mother so much. Finally succumbing to Tessa's excessive pleas, Rob agrees to accompany her to his mother's house where, to Tessa's horror, they find the woman brutally bashed to death. The police suspect Rob of matricide, but a disbelieving Tessa sets out on her own to try to clear her husband. Readers will follow Tessa's dogged search with barely contained anticipation as she struggles to uncover the nature of her stepmother's elusive "business." In addition, a solid cast of supporting characters including an oddly secretive priest, a guileless hospital porter and a warmhearted pregnant friend adds richness to the story. Although Tessa's submissiveness may prove annoying at times, Charles's intricate plot and simple yet colorful prose will captivate. (June 15) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

When Amanda and Ian ditch their mates and marry, the lovelorn Tessa and Rob solace and wed each other, and plan to live happily ever after-until Tessa decides to become pregnant. Appalled for reasons he won't specify (although he does shout, "You'll be a MOTHER!"), Rob stops sleeping with Tessa and reignites his relation with his ex while his forlorn wife, estranged from her cleric dad and missing her own long-dead mum, tries to establish contact with Rob's mother, Linda. At first furious, Rob agrees to meet Tessa at his parents' home, but by the time they arrive, someone's bashed poor Linda's head in with that staple of the British mystery, a fireplace poker. Although Rob still refuses to discuss why he loathes his mum, and the police seem to be making no headway in her murder, Tessa ferrets around, discovering that Linda may have been a prostitute, a madam, or something even worse. Certainly Linda's chief mourners-a banker, a hospital porter, a copper, a wealthy entrepreneur, and a vicar-all share an embarrassing secret, and blackmail potential. The vicar will be coshed with a sacred antique statue, and Tessa will be pushed down the stairs, before a former coworker and friends from a neonatal clinic save the day, if not Tessa's marriage. Charles, admired for her ecclesiastical mysteries (Evil Angels Among Them, 1995, etc.), tweaks the clergy for their emotional reserve, lays on the psychological suspense and neurotic compulsions, and offers a vade mecum to first-trimester pregnancy.

Kirkus Reviews