Without Consent: A Helen West & Geoffrey Bailey Mystery

All of the guilt, pain, and ugliness that surrounds the crime of rape are woven deep into the fabric of Frances Fyfield's splendid novel about London prosecutor Helen West and her lover, high-echelon police officer Geoffrey Bailey. One of Bailey's protégés, a rough, unlovable sergeant named Ryan, has been accused of several rapes. Fyfield is so skilled at creating and maintaining suspense that we're never sure of Ryan's guilt or innocence until the very end, even though we know that another man, a mysterious doctor, is responsible for some of the vicious attacks. While the rape investigations unfold, West and Bailey make plans to be married, which is another event made believably uncertain by Fyfield's uncanny ability to probe human doubts and frailties. Other Fyfield books available in paperback include Perfectly Pure and Good, A Question of Guilt, and Shadows on the Mirror.