Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast (UK 2018)

From the Publisher:
Douglas Petty is a man who enjoys his reputation as an unreconstructed male with a penchant for too much wine and too many women. Inheriting his father's eccentric estate and dog sanctuary quietened him a little, and marriage to Amy a little more. Even so, it seemed out of character for him a sue a tabloid newspaper for libel when it printed a scurrilous story about him.

His lawyers told him he had a good chance of winning the case, mainly because Amy's testimony would clearly refute the story. But then Amy is involved in a horrendous train crash and while the authorities assume she died in the resulting fire, there is no body to prove it. And if she wasn't killed why has she disappeared and, with no money and no other family, where is she?

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast. Sphere, ISBN: 9780751573749 (July, 2018), 376 p., £8.99.

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
What kind of life would drive you to fake your own death?
Beautiful blonde Amy Petty is involved in a horrific train crash. The authorities assume she perished in the resulting fire, but there is no body. If she's not dead, why has she disappeared?

Is it because of her husband -- rich, charismatic, evil-tempered, and currently embroiled in a libel lawsuit? Or is she running from a past that she cannot escape?

This gripping psychological thriller is perfect for readers who loved The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison.

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast. Witness Impulse / HarperCollins, ISBN: 9780062301222 (December, 2013), eBook, 773 KB (ca. 384 p.), $2.99.

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast (UK 2002)

From the Publisher:
AMY PETTY IS DEAD. BUT AMY PETTY IS ALIVE...
When an Intercity service travelling from Kent to London joins Paddington, Hatfield and Selby in a deadly list of notoriety, it isn't only fate that decides who is killed; one passenger uses the opportunity for argument to spill over into murder; while another -- blonde, beautiful Anyy Petty -- sees the train crash as an opportunity to leave her life behind.

But why would Amy want the world to presume her dead? Is it because of her husband - the rich, charismatic and evil-tempered Douglas Petty - currently embroiled in a libel action against a national newspaper? Or maybe it isn't the present that Amy is running from. Maybe it's the past from which she cannot escape...

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast. Time Warner Paperbacks, ISBN: 0751532312 (October, 2002), 376 p., £5.99.

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast (UK 2001)

From the Publisher:
Amy Petty is dead. But Amy Petty is alive...

Different people react to disasters in different ways. When an intercity service travelling from Kent to London joins Paddington, Hatfield and Selby in a deadly list of notoriety, it isn't only fate that decides who is killed: one passenger uses the opportunity for argument to spill over into murder; while another - blonde, beautiful Amy Petty -- sees the train crash as an opportunity to leaver her life behind...

But why would Amy Petty want the world to presume her dead? Is it because of her husband, currently embroiled in a libel action against a national newspaper? Douglas Petty, a former barrister, is rich, charismatic and evil tempered: he runs a dog sanctuary - inherited from his father - in his brutally eccentric manner. Amy was to be his star witness: without her, his reputation faces ruin.

Or maybe it isn't the present that Amy is running from. Maybe it is the past from which she cannot escape...

Frances Fyfield's latest novel is a story that dovetails and draws you in to dizzying effect. A brooding thriller of truth, betrayal and human instinct, The Nature of the Beast is a masterpiece of psychological suspense by a writer at the peak of her craft.

Frances Fyfield: The Nature of the Beast. Little, Brown, & Co., ISBN: 0316857467 (September, 2001), 280 p., Hardback £17.99, Trade £9.99.