A story of crime and self-defence
This is a crime story with a difference. It is about standing up to bullies and refusing to be intimidated, even if that means taking drastic action. Its heroine is a kindly old lady who never goes out without a hat, and the story is set in a quiet cul-de-sac on the edge of Cambridge, where you don't expect these things to go on!
Hannah Meadows is angry with her clever and manipulative grandson, Billy, whose gang attacked her sister's garden.
"What's
the matter, Jessie? What's happened?"
"Billy," said Jessie in a hoarse voice. "I'll kill him, I tell you. I'll kill him if I ever get hold of him." She was plucking nervously at the cuff of her blouse as she spoke.
Not if I get to him first! Hannah thought. "What's he done, Jessie? Tell me what happened."
"Billy," said Jessie in a hoarse voice. "I'll kill him, I tell you. I'll kill him if I ever get hold of him." She was plucking nervously at the cuff of her blouse as she spoke.
Not if I get to him first! Hannah thought. "What's he done, Jessie? Tell me what happened."
She feels responsible for Billy because of her own guilty secret. Years ago she was raped by Jessie's unscrupulous husband, Rupert, and she suspects Billy has inherited his grandfather's malevolent nature.
She fears for the safety of her granddaughters, Helen and Veronica, as well as for her elderly neighbours, many of whom are too nervous to go out. Her own sister, Jessie, is now a recluse and will not even open the door to her.
Then Hannah hears about the 'silver bees'.
This is a group of elderly people who are fighting back against crime and vandalism in their neighbourhoods, mainly by turning themselves into walking booby traps. 'If we can't save ourselves from attack', they say, 'then at least the criminals won't escape either!'
Hannah is tempted to join the silver bees, and wrestles with her conscience. She hates violence of any kind, but how can she protect her family if she is not prepared to act?
Then there is Hannah's young artist neighbour, Declan, who sees her comings and goings from his attic window, and who is desperately in love with Billy's sister, Veronica...
Revenge is a kind of wild justice which, the more man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)