Death of a Perfect Mother
by Robert Barnard
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Description
Lill Hodsden was a monster. She rode roughshod over her daughter, wiped her feet on her husband, blackmailed her lovers and smothered her sons with a mother love that left them screaming out for freedom. Lill set the hackles rising all over Todmarsh, the little South Coast town she queened it over. She was just asking to be done in. And her sons were very ready to oblige. In fact, they had it all worked out, for Saturday night. But when Lill was found garrotted on Thursday, on the way home show more from one of her boy-friends', the case was wide open, and half Todmarsh would have regarded the murderer as a civic benefactor. Inspector McHale, on his first murder case, is a man who values intelligence, particularly his own. He is convinced he is going to discover the killer. But is he going to discover the right one? In the claustrophobic relationships around the appalling Lill, Robert Barnard has used his gift for creating murderable monsters to set up a murder everybody can sympathize with. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Who doesn't want to kill Lill Hodsden? She is a shrew to her husband Fred, her sons Gordon and Brian and she is especially nasty to her daughter Debbie.
Her own mother, her many neighbors and her daughter's boyfriend are not too fond of Lill either. Add her lover, and his invalid wife and there are too many people who would like to see Lill dead.
Gordon and Brian conspire a plot to do away with their mother, but before they can carry out their plan someone else beats them to it, or did they?
I was a little disappointed with the end of this book, but it was an entertaining read nonetheless.
Her own mother, her many neighbors and her daughter's boyfriend are not too fond of Lill either. Add her lover, and his invalid wife and there are too many people who would like to see Lill dead.
Gordon and Brian conspire a plot to do away with their mother, but before they can carry out their plan someone else beats them to it, or did they?
I was a little disappointed with the end of this book, but it was an entertaining read nonetheless.
Enjoyable writing - no surprise with Barnard
Amusing story line, until a dark turn at the end.
Amusing story line, until a dark turn at the end.
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Author Information
77+ Works 6,287 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Alternate titles
- Mother's boys
- Original publication date
- 1981
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Statistics
- Members
- 122
- Popularity
- 266,340
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.22)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 3
