Love and Other Poisons
Mrs Sheehy was an affluent old lady living in New York. Her only relatives close by are her granddaughter, Violet, on whom she dotes and her son, Tom, and his wife. She leads a quiet life but is occasionally bothered by journalists who believe that she is someone other than who she says she is. They have no real evidence for this and soon get tired and move on to another story. Then Harry Townsend comes to her door. He is not a journalist but has his own reasons for wishing to uncover her true identity. He also claims to have evidence to support his ideas.
In 1825, Emile L’Angelier died of arsenic poisoning in Glasgow. His lover, Madeleine Smith, was tried for his murder. The jury could not agree and, it being Scotland, a verdict of ‘not proven’ was returned, and she was released. After her release she left Glasgow and moved a number of times, apparently ending in the USA.
These are the facts of a real case which has previously appeared in books, on stage and in film. Emile abused her mentally, physically and sexually, so she had reason to want him dead. She also had a fiancé. Her abuse is graphically described. The novel moves between New York and Glasgow and from 1825 to 1927. In spite of these changes in date and place, the reader is never disoriented, the facts being released in a logical sequence, building tension throughout. Is Mrs Sheehy really Madeleine Smith? Did she murder Emile? If not, who did?
Lesley McDowell is an established writer of both fiction and nonfiction, and this can only enhance her reputation. A thoroughly good read.
