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Laura Principal #3

Jeu de main jeu de vilain

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Daryll Flatt a treize ans ; il en a pass deux en prison pour meurtre... Quoi de plus inconcevable qu'un enfant meurtrier C'est ce qui ronge Laura Principal, dtective prive charge par le frre de l'enfant d'un supplment d'enqute. Mais Cambridge, la splendeur des collges centenaires, la beaut des petites ruelles et les dlices des promenades bicyclette sur les berges de la rivire cachent mal la cruaut des actes et la noirceur des mes. Petites filles, petits garons, attention, le temps de l'innocence est compt...

Paperback

First published April 14, 1998

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About the author

Michelle Spring

22 books17 followers
Michelle Spring was raised on Vancouver Island. She worked for many years as an academic in Cambridge where she lives with her husband and their two children. She has written several academic books and five Laura Principal thrillers.

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5 stars
11 (12%)
4 stars
31 (35%)
3 stars
34 (38%)
2 stars
9 (10%)
1 star
3 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Donna.
13 reviews
January 29, 2025
For me, it's a boring read. There's no hook that drags you in to want to keep reading. I did finish it.
Profile Image for Patricia Atkinson.
1,034 reviews11 followers
December 28, 2018
howard flatt hires private investigator laura principal to look into why his younger brother daryll who was a foster child to an older woman Geraldine king killed her. everyone knew what he did and how he did it but his brother wanted to know why is loving brother of 11 turn into a killer after howard left home.
106 reviews
October 8, 2017
Great book my first by tha on author but won't be my last. This book was full of suspense and twists and had me guessing until the final chapter. Very good.
Profile Image for Samantha Gilbert.
250 reviews2 followers
October 27, 2017
This book had a great storyline, but fell short for me with the actual writing and back story. Didn’t like this one.
Profile Image for Nicky Warwick.
653 reviews1 follower
December 14, 2023
A complicated case for PI Laura Principal when she is asked by the elder brother of an 11 year old boy accused of killing his foster mother to find out why he did it.
As she starts to dig she begins to question the validity of the conviction despite the fact that the boy confessed
Profile Image for Cameron Wheeler.
4 reviews
March 23, 2017
This book is definitly suspensful because you dont know whats about to happen. The guy watching her every move is definitely creepy. I overall like the book for its mystery and suspense.
Profile Image for Karry.
901 reviews
June 14, 2025
Well, this was a fine little mystery. Simple and interesting because I enjoy stories of private detectives, because we have one in our family and it gives us a peep into her job. The storyline was fine and the main character was well built. I will read more of this author.
Profile Image for LJ.
3,159 reviews305 followers
March 11, 2009
STANDING IN THE SHADOWS (
Spring, Michelle - 3rd in series

From Fantastic Fiction: Nothing is more disturbing than a child who commits murder. PI Laura Principal knows Daryll did it, but she wants to know why... 11 year old Daryll Flatt killed his elderly foster mother by dropping a large concrete block from his tree house on to her head. Apparently he was angry about a lost toy, about having to get dressed up for a meeting in town. It doesn't seem like a reason to kill and Daryll's older brother Howard - consumed by Guilt that he wasn't there when Daryll needed him - has to know why the boy acted as he did. Laura principal is on the case and faced by some disturbing questions. And someone with a particular interest in the case is standing in the shadows watching her every move.

A British PI investigating a child murderer. It had an interesting psyco.
Profile Image for Mandie.
24 reviews
February 18, 2008
I read it fast but I skipped a lot and I hated that it was such an English book but the publisher/editor decided that the word 'knickers' should read 'panties' because the American audience are too stupid to figure out what this meant. Then they forget to be consistent and leave in 'knickers'. It just bugged.
Profile Image for Azuree.
585 reviews4 followers
March 23, 2016
Laura Principal is back in a 3rd mystery. This one finds her trying to figure out if an 11-year-old boy is guilty of the crime of which he's been accused. I still like the series, but I found this book a little on the slow side.
Profile Image for Sue Davis.
1,262 reviews44 followers
March 31, 2018
Young boy accused of killing his foster mother. The social worker did it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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