A murder has been committed--the young wife of a respectable London clerk is discovered dead in her parlour and her husband is missing. The police strongly suspect that he is responsible for the murder and start to look for him, but in the meantime they discover his diary where he seemingly confesses to the crime--or at least responsibility for it.
We, along with the police, then read the day-by-day account of the life of this man and his young wife, the ghastly in-laws, his alcoholic father and bit by bit, the tawdry little tangle he finds himself in--almost against his will, but not quite.
Lee Jackson writes with a very sure hand and makes Victorian London come to life. The petty little man who is trying to make his way in a hide-bound, class conscious society rings very true, as does the husband's attitude towards women and people who try to thrust themselves unworthily above their station.
A great story and quite a twist of an ending. ( )