When George Marlow’s eyes flickered towards him he had never known such hatred. He had never believed himself capable of killing, but he could have killed Marlow with his bare hands; kill him, hurt him, make him feel the pain he had inflicted on Angela.

“ . . . And in October, nineteen eighty-seven you murdered Sharon Felicity Read . . .”

Sharon’s father sat stiffly at the back of the gallery in his best suit, starched shirt and bowling club tie. Sharon’s mother had died, a year after they received the news; he had lost his wife and daughter because of the same man. Not a day passed without this quiet, respectable man remembering his daughter, his sweetheart, his own darlin’ . . .

He wept because she had only just begun to grow into a woman, and he wept because he was haunted by his wife’s face when he had told her that their daughter had been found. The arrogance of Marlow didn’t anger him, didn’t inspire him to revenge; it just left him with an overwhelming sadness, because nothing mended his heart.

Tennison kept her eyes averted from Marlow, her head bowed, but he seemed to draw her attention as if willing to look at him. She stared suddenly as a door opened, throwing a wedge of light onto a dark figure, hunched at the back of the court. It was Moyra, and she had aged twenty years.

“George Arthur Marlow, having heard the charges against you, how do you plead?”

Tennison looked up at him. He was astonishingly handsome; his dark eyes, high cheekbones and glossy hari oozed vitality. She drew a sharp breath because he was looking at her. As their eyes met he seemed to smile, yet his lips did not move. It was just a lightness in his eyes . . . there was no anger, no malice.

“Not guilty, sir,” he replied.

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MY THANKS TO

Elaine Causon, my researcher and assistant who deserves so much credit for Prime Suspect. To Jenny (Mealy Mouth) Sheridan who paid for the lunch at which Prime Suspect was conceived. My thanks to Sally Head, Don Leaver, Ken Morgan, Roy Stonehouse, Sheelagh Killeen, and to all the cast of Prime Suspect, and my admiration and sincere thanks to its director, Chris Menaul.

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynda La Plante's fourteen novels, including the Prime Suspect series, have all been international bestsellers. She is an Honorary Fellow of the British Flim Institute and a member of the UK Crime Writers Awards Hall of Fame. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2008. She runs her own television production company and lives in London and Easthampton, New York. A new American television series based on Prime Suspect premieres this fall on NBC.

Copyright

COPYRIGHT

Originally published in the U.K.

FIRST U.S. EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1993 BY DELL PUBLISHING.