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I'd like to propose a new sub-category for crime fiction -- that of true grit! And can I also propose that Sheila Quigley gets filed under it. For those of you not familiar with her work, she sets her books among the working class community of Houghton-le-Spring in the north east of England. These aren't lawyers or journalists or ladies who lunch . . . they're people struggling to survive on the breadline. The books are gritty without being unremittingly dark, and Quigley has a great line in deadpan humour -- I rather liked the line from old Mrs Reardon, who is being driven mad by mysterious lights she can see from her window and who bemoans the fact to her cat that the police will never believe her and that it's probably terrorists out there: "And if they come raping and pillaging, they'll find me already in me bed and waiting." If you've read Quigley's two previous books, you'll recognise a pack of the characters, both police and civilian. And there are some memorable new ones, including a quartet of badly damaged children, who provide the focus for the novel. Teenager Richard Stansfield is found hanging from a tree. The police assume it's suicide, but his mother Debbie won't accept that. And soon DI Lorraine Hunt starts to wonder about the verdict, particularly as his friends seem terrified and are keeping some sinister company. And once the friends start going missing, the police have to pull out all the stops to get to the bottom of what's happening. As with the earlier books, the police procedural aspect of LIVING ON A PRAYER is the least satisfying and actually probably the least interesting part. Don't get me wrong, Lorraine is a good character, but the book moves along much better when the police are in the background as the children are vividly realistic creations. You might also find the love tension between Lorraine and her sergeant Luke a bit tiresome and over-done. What I like best about Quigley is the way she can represent real people and the way they talk. The likes of Jacko, Danny, Len and Co, who are pushing their luck with the authorities by going on booze and cigarettes runs to the Continent, are living, breathing creations. Read LIVING ON A PRAYER and visit a place where you may recognise a lot of the people, although you might not want to live there yourself!
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, April 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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