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Sarah Fortune #3
Staring at the Light - 1st Edition/1st Printing
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329 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
4 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Frances Fyfield
83 books65 followersAka Frances Hegarty.
Frances Fyfield is a criminal lawyer, who lives in London and in Deal, by the sea which is her passion. She has won several awards, including the CWA Silver Dagger.
She grew up in rural Derbyshire, but spent most of her adult life in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. She was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English at Newcastle University and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. She also worked for the Metropolitan Police.
Years later, writing became her real vocation. She also writes short stories for magazines and radio and is occasionally a contributor to Radio 4, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave.
Frances Fyfield is a criminal lawyer, who lives in London and in Deal, by the sea which is her passion. She has won several awards, including the CWA Silver Dagger.
She grew up in rural Derbyshire, but spent most of her adult life in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. She was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English at Newcastle University and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. She also worked for the Metropolitan Police.
Years later, writing became her real vocation. She also writes short stories for magazines and radio and is occasionally a contributor to Radio 4, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 15, 2014
Staring at the Light by Francis Fyfield is an April 2014 William Morrow/HarperCollins publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Sarah Fortune is involved in the case of Cannon and Julie a couple trying to keep themselves out of trouble which means keeping Cannon away from his deranged brother, Johnny. Cannon spent time in prison, but he is out now and married trying to live a normal life. He is an artist that escapes his demons by immersing himself in his work. But, his brother needs him, not only to help him continue his evil deeds, but because of his strong bond with Cannon. Johnny is not pleased that Cannon has removed himself from his life and the reason Cannon is so eager to avoid Johnny is not just his fear of prison, but his love for his wife, so Julie could be a prime target for Johnny's version of kicks and giggles.
So, Sarah's aunt comes to the rescue by sheltering Julie and Cannon. But, no one could guess at the depths Johnny would go to destroy Julie and be reunited with his brother so he can have him all to himself again. Even Sarah's lover, William, a dentist, gets pulled into the plot ( no pun intended). Trust me, this is a really tense situation. Most of us have at least a little bit of a nervous feeling when we must go to the dentist. So, you just imagine what is going to happen. As it turns out Johnny boy has terrible teeth and a paralyzing fear of dentist. Johnny is one of the most twisted villians I've read about in some time. Whew! This one is a knee knocker, a white knuckler, and a break out in a cold sweat type thriller.
Sarah's character is hard to figure out . She is very independent, and quite confident despite her inabilty to really settle down. William just another one of her quirky lovers that may or may not be around for long. Her relationship with her boss is a bit strained too , but Sarah doesn't really seemed too moved by his anger. Some part of you will wonder at the clients Sarah seems to always become involved with and her going above and beyond in her role as attorney.
For those who have previously read Francis Fyfield you will have an idea as to what to expect, but for those who are new to this author beware that these novels can depict extreme violence against women.
This novel was originally published in 2012 I think but William Morrow is releasing it in digital format in April. I always like to see this happen. Any book released in Hardcover or paperback only, that gets new life in digital format is always a good thing. Frances Fyfield has another series as well and it too is being released in digital format.
If you like dark, tense, psychological thrillers you don't want to miss this one!! You'll dread what's on the next page while compulsively turning them as fast as you can.
Overall this one is an A.
Sarah Fortune is involved in the case of Cannon and Julie a couple trying to keep themselves out of trouble which means keeping Cannon away from his deranged brother, Johnny. Cannon spent time in prison, but he is out now and married trying to live a normal life. He is an artist that escapes his demons by immersing himself in his work. But, his brother needs him, not only to help him continue his evil deeds, but because of his strong bond with Cannon. Johnny is not pleased that Cannon has removed himself from his life and the reason Cannon is so eager to avoid Johnny is not just his fear of prison, but his love for his wife, so Julie could be a prime target for Johnny's version of kicks and giggles.
So, Sarah's aunt comes to the rescue by sheltering Julie and Cannon. But, no one could guess at the depths Johnny would go to destroy Julie and be reunited with his brother so he can have him all to himself again. Even Sarah's lover, William, a dentist, gets pulled into the plot ( no pun intended). Trust me, this is a really tense situation. Most of us have at least a little bit of a nervous feeling when we must go to the dentist. So, you just imagine what is going to happen. As it turns out Johnny boy has terrible teeth and a paralyzing fear of dentist. Johnny is one of the most twisted villians I've read about in some time. Whew! This one is a knee knocker, a white knuckler, and a break out in a cold sweat type thriller.
Sarah's character is hard to figure out . She is very independent, and quite confident despite her inabilty to really settle down. William just another one of her quirky lovers that may or may not be around for long. Her relationship with her boss is a bit strained too , but Sarah doesn't really seemed too moved by his anger. Some part of you will wonder at the clients Sarah seems to always become involved with and her going above and beyond in her role as attorney.
For those who have previously read Francis Fyfield you will have an idea as to what to expect, but for those who are new to this author beware that these novels can depict extreme violence against women.
This novel was originally published in 2012 I think but William Morrow is releasing it in digital format in April. I always like to see this happen. Any book released in Hardcover or paperback only, that gets new life in digital format is always a good thing. Frances Fyfield has another series as well and it too is being released in digital format.
If you like dark, tense, psychological thrillers you don't want to miss this one!! You'll dread what's on the next page while compulsively turning them as fast as you can.
Overall this one is an A.
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January 27, 2008This didn't sound all that appealing to start off with, and the beginning of the story wasn't that interesting in itself. As it progressed, however, I became much more drawn into the story. I was surprised by the number of quotes I wanted to write down and keep for the neat, encapsulated way they expressed particular thoughts and feelings. Overall, it wasn't all that realistic, and with the odd gaffe (dentists wouldn't be regulated by the General Medical Council) but a very absorbing story that makes you think more than you might expect.
April 21, 2020
I have read several Frances Fyfield books previously and recalled enjoying them but unfortunately not this one. There's no doubting a lively imagination at work here but when every character is so very weird, to the point of existing in some kind of personal parallel universe, it doesn't give the reader anything to get hold of. I made it about 2/3 of the way through and then realised that I couldn't be bothered and just wasn't interested. The character of Sarah Fortune is an interesting one but her day to day has no semblance of reality to give her more interesting exploits a foundation or context. Too weird for me, others might enjoy.
May 28, 2020
This book has 406 pages, the first approx 100 pages and the last approx 100 were great but the middle 200 approx were dire, just waffle with no real direction, I almost gave up as it was so tedious and then suddenly she found her way again and reverted to her usual interesting writing.
May 27, 2023
Wat een vreemd verhaal. Misschien komt het deels doordat ik enige voorgeschiedenis mis gezien dit blijkbaar het derde is met dit hoofdpersonage. Maar alle personages zijn zo vreemd. En de gebeurtenissen bizar. Maar toch van genoten. Ik ben wel blij dat ik niet binnenkort naar de tandarts hoef.
September 5, 2023
Started reading, waiting to get interested; then found I was skipping pages; then started to flick through the whole book ... then went to the end and start skimming backwards to see if I was missing something and maybe there was some point to reading it. No, so stopped.
November 5, 2016
It wasn't really what I expected it to be like but I have to admit it ended with a one big surprise one will never foresee.
July 20, 2021
I look forward to future installments of Staring at the Light (Sarah Fortune, #3) .
April 1, 2025
Gave up on after 102 pgs.
January 3, 2016
Such a gentle telling of extreme horror, mental torture, made worse for being dental at times, tension racked up as a cast of eccentrics act and react, each failing to tell the other what is going on - truly a lesson in close, tight plotting, beautifully written. This is the first of Sarah Fortune I've read - I needs must seek out more.
December 7, 2012
I thought I would enjoy this more, having already been introduced to Sarah Fortune in another of her mysteries (a gripping one), but Sarah's character details in this one are slim and the plot was ho hum, so I found it slow going.
June 29, 2014
DNF. While there are some interesting and likeable characters here, after about 2/3rds of the way through, I stopped. Didn't find the book in this series nearly as compelling as those in the Helen West series.
March 2, 2016
Extremely well written. Very smart book. It was also almost too introspective, with long paragraphs of "thought" between action. I didn't want to stop reading, though.
March 31, 2016
Disappointing. I fear my enjoyment of Fyfield's novels is coming to an end. It just didn't take off.
September 3, 2016
Just couldn't get into
February 1, 2017
Hard-boiled writing set in middle-class London. Taut and well-written but on the brutal side to the characters you're taught to love. Not to be read while feeling fragile.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews