A Room Swept White by Sophie Hannah

I have dark shadows under my eyes, and I blame Sophie Hannah. I’ve stayed up much later than I intended for a few nights now, reading her newest book.

It’s her fifth crime novel, and in some ways it follows the pattern of the previous four by posing a seemingly unsolvable puzzle, but it other ways it is a much more serious,  more thought-provoking, more mature work than the four that came before.

The trouble is though, because it’s a mystery I don’t want to say much more about the plot than is disclosed on the jacket. So what I’ll do instead is introduce you to the main players.

Helen Yardley was convicted and imprisoned for the murder of her two infant sons. She was later released on her appeal, her conviction found to be unsafe. Now she is a figurehead for women is similar circumstances and campaigns for others to be released.

Her husband, Paul Yardley, stood by her, but they lost their daughter. She was taken away by Social Services and new parents were found for her.

Grace and Sebastian Brownlee were thrilled to be able to adopt a little girl. They would never give her up and they certainly never wanted her to find out who her real mother was.

Helen’s release was the result of a campaign by journalist and documentary maker Laurie Nattrass. He’s making a film about Helen and two other women accused of infanticide.

Sarah Jaggard was tried for the murder of a friend’s baby. She was found not guilty, and her husband, Glen, stood by her. They don’t have things easy, but they are facing the future together.

But photographer Angus Hines didn’t stand by his wife. He has his own viewpoint, and he is determined that his voice will be heard.

Ray Hines, like Helen, was convicted of the murder of her own children, and her conviction was set aside too.

What links those three women? Doctor Judith Duffy was an expert witness at all three trials, but now she has been discredited and charged with misconduct. But is it that simple?

Maybe not. Laurie Nattrass has accepted a new job and Fliss Benson finds herself promoted and in charge of the documentary. It’s a job she has good reason to not want. for personal reasons, because Laurie thinks he can still pull the strings, and because Ray Hines is pursuing her. Why?

It’s an interesting cast, and characters are one of Sophie Hannah’s strengths. Every one vivid and utterly believable.

The mystery that links then all is the murder of Helen Yardley. And of course it brings in Sophie Hannah’s series characters, detectives Simon Waterhouse and Charley Zailer, and a new dimension as Detective Inspector Giles Proust who is in charge of the Yardley murder case, was junior officer when Helen Yardley was first arrested and believes completely in her innocence.

The story that is complex, but not difficult to follow, and utterly compelling. Some elements and attitudes are entirely expected, but many are not. So you are always unsettled and always thinking and wondering. There’s so much I’d like to say, so many interesting relationships, developments and ideas, but I can’t. It would spoil it.

And it’s a story that raise a lot more questions. That maybe justice can’t be fully served by deeming people guilty or not guilty. About the seeming need to always have somebody cast as a hero and somebody cast as a villain. About how sometimes things are broken and can’t be fixed, no matter how sorry anyone might be. And gripping though the story is there are moments, and many dialogues, with the power to make you stop and think about things that are really much more important.

But the mystery never loses its hold. There are elements that are a little difficult to believe, but they work because they are psychologically true. Loose ends too, a few things unexplained, but life is like that. The ending has those same strengths and weaknesses. It’s a little melodramatic, but it’s extremely well executed and it does work.

And, though I’m tired, I’m still thinking about this book. I suspect I will be for a good while.