Margaret Leroy, The River House

Margaret Leroy, The River House - Westcotes Clinic psychologist Ginnie Holmes feels so ut of sorts that her colleague asks if she suffers from burnout. Ginnie is concerned that her daughter Molly is leaving the nest to attend Oxford, but still has Amber at home and her spouse Greg. Perhaps it is her client, seven-year-old Kyle, who she suspects has suffered a major trauma that leaves her uneasy, but mostly, when she is honest with herself, it is her affair with Detective Inspector Will Hampden that she treasures yet feels guilty about.

During a rendezvous with Will, Molly, looking out a window, notices a man running in a downpour. Will insists the guy is a jogger or just trying to get out of the torrent, but Molly insists he did not have jogging clothing on and had no reason to be in this isolated spot. Not long afterward, the media announces that a murdered female corpse has been found near the spot where Will and Molly last met. She believes she saw the killer and should come forward with her information, but to explain why she was there means the destruction of her family, including the disdain from her daughters.

THE RIVER HOUSE is a deep, psychological, suspense thriller that slowly builds the suspense with a close look at an already troubled Molly before she witnesses the probable killer fleeing the crime scene. Once Molly realizes she must choose between losing everything, perhaps even her lover, or remain silent and let a murderer remain free, fans will feel her internal torment that rips asunder her guts. This tense, character-driven tale, along with POSTCARDS FROM BERLIN, displays Margaret Leroy's skill at a person's mental collapse.

Little, Brown, Jun 2005, $23.95, 320 pp.

ISBN: 0316741574

Harriet Klausner