The Cradle in the Grave
Ratings1
Average rating4
“A perfectly executed psychological thriller” (The Guardian) from the internationally bestselling author of The Wrong Mother and The Other Woman’s House Television producer Fliss Benson is surprised to discover that her superstar boss, Laurie Nattrass, is stepping down from his post. She’s even more surprised that he asks her to take over his documentary about crib-death mothers wrongly accused of murder. Thanks to Laurie’s advocacy, three women are now free, while the doctor who testified against them is under investigation for misconduct. Then one of the mothers is found dead. In her pocket is a card with sixteen numbers on it, arranged in four rows of four- exactly like the anonymous card Fliss has just received in the mail. The fifth book in Sophie Hannah’s beloved Zailer and Waterhouse series, The Cradle in the Grave combines the puzzle of a Golden Age mystery with a masterful tale of psychological suspense that Tana French and Laura Lippman fans will love.
Tags
Genre
Series
Featured Series
8 primary books9 released books#5 in Spilling CID
Spilling CID is a 9-book series with 8 released primary works first released in 2006 with contributions by Sophie Hannah.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
“Assume nothing, believe nobody, check everything.”
Thirty-one-year-old Felicity Benson is an insecure television producer who is surprised when her boss, film-maker legend Laurie Nattrass, hands her his pet project, a documentary detailing the stories of women who were falsely accused of murdering their children, and announces his retirement. As Felicity begins interviewing these mothers, she receives a strange item in the mail - a card containing 16 numbers, arranged in a tidy grid. Soon she discovers the police are investigating crimes related to two women featured in the film who also received a card from the mysterious sender. One, assaulted on the street, the other, murdered in her own home.
This latest novel in the Spilling CID series by Sophie Hannah is my favorite so far. Hannah constructs a well-honed mystery with distinctive characters and sophisticated writing. DC Simon Waterhouse is once again pitted against his boss, “The Snowman”, who was the arresting officer in the case involving the murdered mother, and we get to watch their relationship deteriorate even further. This plot was an extremely straight forward murder mystery, avoiding some of the confusing twists present in her previous novels. However, in true form, Hannah keeps the reader guessing until the shocking and unforgettable ending.
