Place of Safety
Barrister Trish Maguire needs all the time she can find to help her young half-brother adjust to life after the violent death of his mother. Sir Henry Buxford, an influential acquaintance, has other ideas. He asks Trish to investigate one of his private charities, a magnificent art collection built up before 1914 and lost for most of the twentieth century. Taking a crash course in the murkier aspects of the art world, Trish is determined to unlock the secrets she is sure are hidden somewhere in the collection. Her research takes her not only into the heart of an engrossing love story, but also the agonizing reality of life in the trenches of the First World War. She soon discovers a web of deceit that has spanned the decades since, catching all kinds of people in its filaments. Now, the innocent, the violent, and the victims all have to free themselves. And someone dies. With her trademark dexterity and hard-hitting suspense, Natasha Cooper brings us the unstoppable Trish Maguire in her most challenging and enthralling case to date.
‘Natasha Cooper’s attractive heroine, the barrister Trish Maguire, returns… Once again the author has successfully struck a balance between the unfolding of an engrossing mystery and the background of Trish’s difficult home life’ Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph
‘Readers are in for a highly entertaining time… Cooper is one of the most reliable practitioners of the genre at work today, and this is splendid stuff.’ Publishing News
‘Inspiringly original… [Trish is] a layered, complex and somewhat flawed character, a detective more in the tradition of Maigret than Marlow. It is [the] ability to evoke changing moods which Natasha Cooper brings to her unwinding plot and to her descriptions of London life which puts A Place of Safety ahead of most current detective fiction.’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Cooper excels at depicting the effects of terror on the weak and the strong; happily, Trish is one of the latter.’ Kirkus Reviews
‘Cooper creates a dark and savage story with a deviously clever plot, convincing and complex characters, and a shocking climax. The best yet in a too-little-known series.’ Booklist
‘Smashes through…stereotypes … this is an engrossing read. … [Cooper] has succeeded in highlighting the great divide between the haves and the have-nots… All in all, a thumping good read.’ Southwark News
‘A thought-provoking read with a very human touch’ South Wales Argus
‘Readers will find Trish easy to like… Cooper’s subtle social comment on the finely drawn class distinctions of London’s professionals will fascinate British mystery lovers’ Rocky Mountain News
A Place of Safety marks the return of British barrister Trish Maguire to the acclaimed series by Natasha Cooper, one of England’s best.’ The San Diego Union Tribune
‘This is a series that has grown markedly better with each book. The characters are as fascinating as the story, which takes a surprising twist at the end. **** (Compelling)’ Romantic Times Bookclub
A gripping new novel that delves into the murky depths of the art world Sunday Post
The finale is shocking and violent. Characterization, especially of evil characters, is excellent. Oklahoman