I am a big fan of Thorne Moore, and always wait in anticipation between publications so I am delighted to learn of her latest novel. Welcome to the page, Thorne, tell us all about your new one!
Adam Winters is killed by a drunk driver. His devastated widow, Nicki, realises she is being stalked.
Offered an escape to a cottage by the sea, she and her daughter Willow arrive on the Pembrokeshire coast.
They settle into the community. But are drawn into troubles they have driven two hundred and fifty miles to avoid: family deceptions, jealousies, lies, a disappearance and a suspected killing.
Struggling to find peace with the past and truth in the present, Nicki discovers there is more than one sort of fatal collision"
Fatal Collision is a story about a woman, Nicki Bryce, trying to come to terms with the loss of her husband, killed by a drunk driver. Her agony is exacerbated by the refusal of the driver to admit his own guilt, which means that Nicki has to wait for months for the case to come to trial. The drunk driver, Denis Anderson, is clearly guilty, and Nicki is left to wonder how she would want him to be punished. Hanged, drawn and quartered? Boiled in oil? Imprisoned for life? Whatever punishment is meted out, it won’t bring her husband back. He will still be dead, those dear to him will still be grieving, and the culprit’s family will have been derailed too. What Nicki really wants is for Anderson to acknowledge his responsibility and tell the truth.
Is truth a more effective form of justice than the sort administered by the courts? Nicki comes to think so. Punishment does nothing except spread the pain further. It doesn’t heal people who are already hurting, but maybe truth and understanding will do better. Others have thought the same. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa put acknowledgement of the truth above punishment as a response to the ending of apartheid. It rather depends on whether we think of justice as providing revenge or restitution. At least the truth will serve some purpose when other forms of justice fail. Dr Mengele, whose crimes were unspeakable in Nazi Germany, escaped any form of justice, and probably never felt any remorse, but the detailed truth of what he did is out there, ensuring his name will be reviled forever.
In Fatal Collision, Nicki’s crusade for truth leads her to try and solve mysteries haunting other people. Will they be better off knowing the truth, or will it only hurt? Ignorance is supposed to be bliss, but sometimes the not knowing is a never-ending nightmare. She just wants to help, but she doesn’t always realise what she’s getting into. Dabbling in other people’s lives can be a dangerous business.
Nicki lives in Hertfordshire, but most of the book is set in Pembrokeshire, on the northern coast, in the area where I live. She moves there temporarily with her daughter Willow, in order to get away from the scene of her own tragedy. I can’t think of a better place to come, but of course the people who belong there are every bit as liable to tragedy and trauma as anyone else, as she soon discovers.Fatal Collision is out now in Kindle and paperback, published by Diamond Crime, available HERE
Thorne was born in Luton and graduated from Aberystwyth University (history) and from the Open University (Law). She set up a restaurant with her sister and made miniature furniture for collectors. She lives in Pembrokeshire, which forms a background for much of her writing, as does Luton.
She writes psychological mysteries, or "domestic noir," exploring the reason for crimes and their consequences, rather than the details of the crimes themselves. and her first novel, "A Time For Silence," was published by Honno in 2012, with its prequel, "The Covenant," published in 2020. "Motherlove" and "The Unravelling" were also published by Honno. "Shadows," published by Lume, is set in an old mansion in Pembrokeshire and is paired with "Long Shadows," also published by Lume, which explains the history and mysteries of the same old house. She's a member of Crime Cymru. Her latest crime novel, "Fatal Collision is published by Diamond Crime (2022)
She also writes Science Fiction, including "Inside Out" (2021) and "Making Waves" (2022)
Thank you, Judith
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, I am looking forward to reading it x
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