Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt (USA 2013)

From the Publisher:
Cunning and evil, poisoned by a lifetime of love withheld, Eileen Cartwright has an unrivaled passion for revenge. When the rich, middle-aged widow falls in love with her lawyer, she goes to fatal lengths to make him hers. Prosecutor Helen West is assigned to the case, but when Eileen's extraordinary evil reaches out even from behind prison bars, the investigation reaches a climax of frightening and frenzied violence.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt. Witness Impulse / HarperCollins, ISBN: 9780062303943 (December, 2013), eBook, 382 KB (ca. 240 p.), $2.99.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt (UK 2012)

From the Publisher:
Eileen Cartwright is a woman who knows how to get what she wants. And she wants her handsome solicitor, despite the fact that he is already married.

She plots the murder of his wife with chilling ease - but chooses an amateur for the job. He is quickly caught, but proving Eileen's involvement is tougher for the police as meticulous planning and influence put her seemingly above the law. Brought together for the first time, Helen West, crown prosecutor, and Geoffrey Bailey, detective superintendent, are faced with this woman's defiant evil. And when she enlists the help of a young psychopath, they are pulled inexorably towards a tense climax of frightening and frenzied violence.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt. Sphere, ISBN: 9781405521130 (December, 2013), eBook, 0.28 MB (ca. 240 p.), £6.99.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt (UK 1992)

From the Publisher:
When rich, middle-aged widow Eileen Cartwright becomes obsessed with Michael Bernard her handsome solicitor, she plots the murder of his pretty wife.

A Polish hospital porter is hired for the killing. Bumbling and remorseful, he is quickly caught. But Eileen's involvement is harder to prove as her wealth and cunningly meticulous planning have put her almost beyond the law. Helen West and Geoffrey Bailey are the crown prosecutor and detective superintendent assigned to the case. Both survivors of personal trauma, they are drawn together by a weary, shared compassion.

Only when Eileen Cartwright's extraordinary evil reaches out even from behind prison bars, and her unholy alliance with a young psychopath is revealed, are events brought to a tense and thrilling climax of frightening and frenzied violence.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt. Mandarin, ISBN: 0749310200 (August, 1992), 288 p., £3.99.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
Cunning and evil, poisoned by a lifetime of love withheld, Eileen Cartwright has an unrivalled passion for revenge. When the rich, middle-aged widow falls in love with her solicitor, she cold-bloodedly arranges for the murder of his wife. It is a crime that will claim many victims.

Eileen's chosen pawn is Stanlslaus Jaskowski, a would-be private eye in dire need of money and manhood: Clumsy, remorseful, Stan is easily caught and quick to confess... but Eileen's guilt will be harder to prove.

Helen West and Geoffrey Bailey are the Crown Prosecutor and Detective Superintendent assigned to the case, unlikely allies drawn together by a weary, shared compassion. But as they painstakingly gather their evidence a wave of stunning violence is building, guided by the evil hand of Eileen Cartwright and the blind hand of fate...

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0671676652 (April, 1990), 277 p., $4.50.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt (USA 1989)

From the Publisher:
In a story as complex and compelling as the best of P.D. James, Frances Fyfield steps beyond the boundaries of traditional crime fiction to explore the strange compulsions of the human heart. Richly detailed in its knowledge of the law and its evocation of London, A QUESTION OF GUILT is a thrilling mystery that marks the arrival of a major new talent.

Eileen Cartwright is not just another rich, mid- dle-aged widow. Cunning and evil, poisoned by a lifetime of love withheld, she has an unrivalled passion for revenge. When she falls in love with Michael Bernard, her solicitor, she cold-bloodedly arranges for the murder of his wife. It is a crime that will claim many victims.

Eileen's chosen pawn is Stanislaus Jaskowski, a dreamer trapped in the rancid poverty of a council flat -- a would-be private eye in dire need of money, yet even more desperate to prove his courage to his adored, malevolent son. Clumsy, remorseful, Stanis easily caught and quick to confess. Eileen's guilt is harder to prove. Her meticulous planning seems to have left no trace of her involvement.

Helen West is the Crown Prosecutor assigned to this disturbing, twisted case. In a sy polite antagonism between policemen and lawyers is the norm, she finds an unexpected ally in Detective Superintendent Geoffrey Bailey, a kindred spirit immediately at home in the organized chaos of her office. Both survivors of personal trauma, drawn together by a quickness of mind and a weary, shared compassion, they progress from tentative, pub-warmed intimacies to a growing dependence on each other's wisdom and friendship.

But as they painstakingly built their case, other players are set in motion, guided by the evil hand of Eileen Cartwright and the blind hand of fate: a lonely unloved boy, drawin into the bright circle of Helen's warmth, holds a nightly vigil in her garden... A policeman, newly in love, abandons his watch... An angry young man, fed on Eileen's hatred, grows ever bolder.

Slowly, with spellbinding tension, the circles converge - until in a sudden, shocking climax, an act of savage violence changes everything...

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt. Pocket Books, ISBN: 0671676644 (July, 1989), 224 p., $16.95.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt (UK 1988)

From the Publisher:
Eileen Cartwright was more than just a rich, middle-aged widow. Cunning and evil, she had an unrivalled passion for revenge, and anyone who felt her frightening gaze became her victim. When she fell in love with Michael Bernard, her solicitor, his pretty wife had to go Eileen had just the plan: another of her victims would kill her.

The man hired for the killing was Stanislaus Jaskowski, a hospital porter turned private eye, a bankrupt in need of cash and credibility. Bumbling and remorseful, he is quickly caught It is Eileen's involvement that is harder to prove. Her meticulous planning and her wealth have put her almost beyond the law.

The case, with its disturbing undertones, its frustrations and delays, exerts a stranglehold on all involved - police, solicitors and family - in particular on Helen West and Geoffrey Bailey, the Crown Prosecutor and Detective Superintendent assigned to the case, two survivors of personal trauma drawn together by a weary, shared compassion. Only when Eileen Cartwright proves that her evil can reach out even from behind prison bars, when her unholy alliance with a young psychopath shows its hand and when a lonely, unloved child finds a new object for his love, are events brought to a head in a climax of frightening and frenzied violence.

Frances Fyfield, a lawyer herself, has written a stunning first novel, an unusually thoughtful, vivid and exciting story about the strange compulsions of the human heart, in which the fate of the characters is as important to the reader as the resolution of the tense and thrilling mystery.

A Question of Guilt marks the arrival of a major new writer in the field of crime and the law.

Frances Fyfield: A Question of Guilt. Heinemann, ISBN: 043427206X (October, 1988), 217 p., £10.95.