A Helping Hand: Celia Dale

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Subtle eeriness and unsettling feeling throughout but it never really amounted to much and felt slightly repetitive - but maybe the point was to highlight the monotony of Mrs Fingal’s sad life with the Evanses? For those who think they’ve seen everything the crime genre has to offer, this is an example of how it can keep rewarding. Celia Dale excels at presenting gentle tales of ordinary people who do extraordinary, wicked things while still living happily in normal society. Originally published in the 1960s "A Helping Hand" was recently reprinted by the publisher and I can see why, as this novel reads like it could have been written yesterday. Most of the characters in this novel are over 60 years old so they do repeat themselves to great effect.

Her writing is subtle, clear, beautiful at times, engrossing even when her characters repeat themselves. We meet Josh Evans, cheerfully squalid, with a fondness for ‘busts’ and bikinis; and Maisie, a lifelong nurse, in whose mouth the word ‘dear’ has the ordinary deadliness of a kitchen knife. It’s bloodless in its entirety, yet quite chilling in its portrayal of the cruelties and interactions of everyday life.Valancourt Books has recently published new editions of two of Celia Dale's novels, A Dark Corner and this book, A Helping Hand. By the end of the holiday, a plan is in place for Mrs Fingal to go and live with the Evanses – an arrangement that seems to suit everyone concerned.

Only Graziella, the innocent pregnant woman from Italy, can bring some light into this dingy, oppressively bland suburban setting. Auntie Flo had lived with them for years until her death, leaving the Evans's her Estate, such as it was. While the usual elements of a standard crime story will not be found in this novel, what happens here certainly falls within the realm of the genre, and given that this book was written in the 1960s, it remains extremely pertinent in our contemporary world which makes what happens even more frightening. I found Sheep's Clothing a far better and more subtle novel and depiction of quiet crime but this novel delivers the groundwork. The one and only thing I found to be on the negative side is that right after a rather stunning twist the story comes to a quick, almost rushed ending which was a bit disappointing, but in the long run it's really more about the getting there, and overall the novel is a true gut puncher.

In truth, Lena is selfish, irritable and impatient – qualities that Maisie soon turns to her own advantage by listening to Lena’s woes. It is accepted by you that Daunt Books has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without written permission from this blog’s author is prohibited. As Graziella bonds with Mrs Fingal, encouraging the old lady to build up her strength by walking again, she senses that something is decidedly off. As the story gets underway, we find the Evanses on holiday in Italy, ostensibly as a bit of a break following the death of Auntie Flo, whom the couple had been looking after in their home before the old lady’s death.

Josh and Mai are having a holiday to get over the recent death of Auntie Flo who lived with them, and who left them everything in her will. Rich, dark and at times funny, this book is a real thriller in the vein of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith and Muriel Spark. While Maisie proceeds to wear down Mrs Fingal by restricting her movements, Josh can be equally sinister in his own chilling way, neglecting his charge for other, more interesting activities.But maybe I've read too much of this sort of thing lately as I was definitely hoping for something darker. Mrs Fingal takes a liking to Mr Evans, and soon the suggestion is made that she move out of Lena's house in Reading, and into the room at the Evans's recently vacated by Auntie Flo. I was delighted to see it popping up in your weekend miscellany the other day as it’s such a great book.