Clara Pascal had everything. A high-flying barrister and devoted mother, she was envied and admired by her peers. Now, robbed of everything that gives her life meaning, she lies chained to the stone wall of a dark cellar - without food, without warmth, without sleep, without even the most basic communication, for her kidnapper will not even tell her what he wants from her.
As Clara passes from fear to anger to despair in her dark prison, Detective Inspector Steve Lawson leads the Cheshire police team working to find her. Is her abduction the work of a random maniac? A released criminal taking his revenge on the lawyer who sent him to jail? An obsessed stalker? Is it a last, spectacular bid for freedom by Casavettes, the ruthless drugs baron she was prosecuting? Even her husband is not above suspicion.
Margaret Murphy's first novel, GOODNIGHT MY ANGEL, was shortlisted for the First Blood award for debut crime novels. A graduate in environmental biology, in 1998 she went back to university to gain an MA in writing. She is a member of Murder Squad.
A skilfully plotted story with strongly drawn characters.
Sunday Telegraph (Susanna Yager)
There is an assurance about the menace that makes this first book welcome.
Tom Deveson, Sunday Times on GOODNIGHT, MY ANGEL
An accomplished first novel by Margaret Murphy [who] knows how to wind up the psychological tension as confidently as many more experienced suspense writers.
Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph on GOODNIGHT, MY A
Just what British crime writing is crying out for - a compassionate, grass roots British novel with the pace, energy and impeccable research of an American thriller
Mo Hayder on Darkness Falls
Sets new standards in the psychological thriller...It's hard to believe something this assured is a first novel. A remarkable debut - threatening, thrilling and thoroughly authentic.
Val McDermid on GOODNIGHT, MY ANGEL
A piece of absolutely terrifying writing...This is crime's most compelling,chilling book ever.
North Wales Chronicle
Debut crime novels that can be praised unreservedly are rare. Murphy creates terrific menace and tension, well-climaxed.
Marcel Berlins, The Times on GOODNIGHT, MY ANGEL
Darkness Falls is a model of what the modern suspense thriller should be -- tense, scary, page-turning and stomach-churning -- because we care most of all about what happens to the characters. Set aside a day -- you won't be able to put it down once it has you in its grip.
Val McDermid on DARKNESS FALLS
Exemplary chiller...If Murphy's appointed task is to scare the reader...she succeeds brilliantly.
Literary Review
'Clara will fascinate readers . . . fans will value this dark psychological thriller.' Midwest Book Review
Margaret Murphy has managed to produce another outstanding psychological thriller...Darkness Falls is a powerful work...Readers of her previous work should certainly not be disappointed,whilst those fresh to her output will find this book provides an enticing introduction.
Sherlock
'High-tension thriller...well-crafted novel.' Publishers Weekly on Darkness Falls
Dark,gripping,horrific crime tale.
the bookseller
Makes Margaret Murphy a mistress of psychological novels.
peterborough evening telegraph
Menancing psychological thriller with a clever plot.
glasgow evening times
Gritty northern chiller, brilliantly executed
Choice on Darkness Falls
excellent
Deadly Pleasures
Darkness Falls is a great testament to Margaret Murphy's story-telling abilities...a tense and scary psychological filled book...has the pace, force and suspense that will stay with you and in your mind for ages
Mystery Women on DARKNESS FALLS
'Excellent novel told from three points of view: those of the perpetrator, the victim and the police . . . The author sets the stage so well that the reader can feel every nuance: the terror of the victim, the cold calculation of the kidnapper and the desperation of the police . . . This novel has an overwhelming sense of menace and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The different viewpoints are presented smoothly and without ambiguity, and all contribute to the success of the whole. This is a well-written thriller, told with compassion, but without sugar-coating.'Mystery NewsonDarkness Falls