I bought a second-hand copy of Mask of Betrayal by Maureen O’Brien a year or so ago via ABE Books. I had read one of her other crime novels and enjoyed it a lot. This book is a first edition hardback version from 1998 and both the book and the dustcover are in excellent condition, but the print is very small so, although the book is thin, it was actually quite a long novel. I chose this story for the challenge this Spring because it had been on the to-be-read pile for rather a long time and I wanted at least one crime novel on the list.
A very decomposed body is found in the bath of a young actress, Kate Creech. Initially it is thought to be her body, but she is on tour and away from home. The investigating officer, John Bright, has to work out if Kate is the murderer and who the victim might be. He is working with a new team of detectives, most of whom don’t like him or are wary of him, and he isn’t sure if he is going to continue in the police as he has become disillusioned.
Kate realises that Bright needs the names of everyone who may have had access to her flat and isn’t happy to let him have their details. She fears that the police will upset and unsettle her friends and suspect them because many of them live non-standard lives. She thinks that she knows who the victim might be and does a little detective work of her own, hoping to keep it secret from the police.
The book is good at how a police investigation uncovers secrets and damages relationships. Bright is forthright in his manner, maybe even bullying, because he wants to find out who has killed this young woman. Kate is evasive and worried and has to watch as people feel that they are targeted and coerced into giving information about others. A lot of the strength of the plot in this book is as a result of this tension.
I enjoyed this novel a lot. I thought that it was very well written and that the author reflected the invasive nature of a police investigation very well. Kate was annoying, on occasion, and Bright was prickly, but the author showed how their two attitudes together solved the puzzle. I thought that once the victim was identified that the murderer was obvious, but that didn’t spoil this book for me. A very satisfying read. I shall pass this book on to Oxfam to find another reader but shall look out for more fiction by this author.
Anne Is Reading 