Anabel Donald Libros

Anabel Donald's first Notting Hill mystery starring tough but vulnerable amateur sleuth, Alex Tanner

'Ever read Lord of the Flies?' said Rohini. 'Of course. Set book, year ten. And...? ''Same situation. ''Different gender. 'A plane crashes on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific. On it are thirty English girls between the ages of eleven and eighteen, winners of a competition organised by a company selling feminine hygiene products. Each has had to write an essay on her aspirations, subsequently posted on her own website. Twenty-one of the girls survive and, when no rescue comes, are compelled to devise their own rules in order to stay alive. A brilliant reworking of Golding's classic novel, in Be Nice Anabel Donald takes us into the minds of her teenage characters as they play out a struggle that is as old as the human race and as new as the Internet.

Alex, if you had a son who told you that he liked his new flat because it was built on the site of 10 Rillington Place, what would you think?' 'Hillary, I wish you'd get to the point, ' I said as gently as I could manage. She was ruffled but not distracted. 'If a son of yours said that, would you think he was the Notting Hill killer . . . ?' Alex Tanner, part-time private eye, has given little thought to the serial killer stalking the streets of Notting Hill - except to the effect he may have on house prices. But then a wealthy widow hands her a parcel marked DESTROY UNOPENED . . . The parcel - given to Hilary Lucas following her husband's death - contains anonymous love letters, written over many years. Not surprisingly, Hilary wants Alex to reveal the mystery lover's identity . . . Especially when the letters suggest that the woman is the mother of the Notting Hill killer . . .