A Lesson in Cruelty, Harriet Tyce, book review: ‘An action-packed and beguiling read’

Anna is just completing a prison sentence for a drink-driving incident that nearly killed her nephew.

Crippled with remorse, she has little desire even to carry on.

But before she knows it, she is caught in a devilishly complex intrigue of suspicious deaths, life-threatening experiences and seemingly respectable people with dark secrets.

Enter Lucy, a criminology student who is besotted with her Professor Edgar, whose expertise in prison reform has been honed in the wake of his wife’s murder.

Crime and punishment are the intellectual conceits of local author Harriet Tyce’s latest thriller, A Lesson in Cruelty.

Can people who have committed crimes ever be rehabilitated? Are there methods of doing this that are preferable to traditional incarceration? Should some people remained locked up regardless?

Beneath its meditation on these esoteric questions, the novel gives us a rip-roaring story whose twists and turns barely keep up with the fast-paced storyline.

For those who like action-packed narratives with a female slant, this is a beguiling read that will keep your fingers on the pages.

A Lesson in Cruelty by Harriet Tyce is published by Wildfire. ISBN: 978-1-4722-8015-2; RRP: £9.99.