The Sleep Of The Dead

Julia Havilland is the daughter of a war hero, and a distinguished army officer in her own right. But following an accident in China, when she blames her colleagues for the death of an agent she had recruited, Julia is obliged to return to her childhood home to await the outcome of an investigation. Once there, the past begins to exert its troubling influence, as Julia recalls in ever more vivid detail the tangle of events and relationships which culminated in the murder of a neighbour and her infant daughter. In a series of flashbacks, Julia recalls her own dead father's involvement with the murdered woman and child. Understanding how she idolized him, Julia starts to question whether his courage, confidence and apparent honesty were merely a front for something darker and more brutal. According to published reports, he died bravely, sacrificing himself to bring a wounded man to safety, but the officer investigating Julia's conduct in China soon discovers that this account may have been a convenient cover for quite a different set of events. Bradby succeeds in creating an atmosphere in which neither his characters nor his readers can be certain which is the true version of events. As well as being a competent thriller, therefore, this novel is also a psychological drama, and ultimately a romance which explores the issues of trust and self-knowledge. (Kirkus UK)