The Danger Within

by Hilary Bonner

Overview

A seemingly straightforward domestic tragedy leads to something deeper and darker for DCI Vogel and his team in this gripping police procedural.

A man lies dead on the kitchen floor of his comfortable North Devon home, his body punctured by multiple stab wounds. Beside him sits his silent, traumatised wife.

DCI David Vogel reckons he's seen it all before. A domestic tragedy: an abused wife snaps after years of suffering within a deeply tormented marriage. Then again, as a police officer of long experience, Vogel knows it's dangerous to rely on assumptions. As his investigations lead him in all sorts of unexpected directions, uncovering a number of shocking secrets in the dead man's past, Vogel comes to realize that nothing about this case is as straightforward as it seems.

What really happened inside No.11 St Anne's Avenue? And if Thomas Quinn's wife didn't kill him, who did . . . and why? Vogel is about to embark on the most unusual case of his career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448309191
Publisher:	Severn House
Publication date:	01/31/2023
Series:	A David Vogel Mystery , #4
Edition description:	Main - Large Print
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Hilary Bonner is the author of sixteen previous crime novels, including three David Vogel mysteries, and five non-fiction books. A former journalist and past Chair of the Crime Writers' Association, she divides her time between Somerset and London.

Editorial Reviews

A formidable crime writer ... Packed with Bonner's sharp eye for detail

Daily Mail on Deadly Dance

This taut thriller is filled with unexpected twists and turns, leading up to a shocker of an ending

Booklist on Wheel of Fire

A cracking read, tautly suspenseful

Booklist on Dreams of Fear

Belting cop thriller ... Ingenious

Sunday Times Crime Club on Deadly Dance

The pacy, twist-filled narrative boasts excellent writing, vividly drawn characters, an eye-opening depiction of domestic violence, and a tragic yet satisfying ending

Booklist

A suspenseful and disturbing page-turner ... Fully fleshed characters, a masterfully constructed plot, and a shock ending make for a gripping read

Booklist on Deadly Dance

The pacy, twist-filled narrative boasts excellent writing, vividly drawn characters, an eye-opening depiction of domestic violence, and a tragic yet satisfying ending

Booklist

10/18/2021

The stabbing death of Thomas Quinn, a well-to-do businessman with a reputation as “a pillar of the local community,” propels Bonner’s solid fourth police procedural featuring Det. Chief Insp. David Vogel (after 2019’s Dreams of Fear). When Vogel, a member of the Devon and Cornwall Police’s Major Crimes Team, arrives at the Quinn home, he sees the corpse face down on the kitchen floor and Quinn’s widow, Gillian, a teacher who reported the crime, sitting nearby. Gillian’s unresponsive state leads to her being transported to the hospital to be treated for shock. After a neighbor says she overheard what sounded like a marital dispute shortly before the murder, Gillian becomes the prime suspect, a line of inquiry threatened by an apparent alibi provided by Helen Harris, who runs a sanctuary for abused women. Flashbacks to 1997 detail the horrific experiences of Londoner Lilian St. John, whose abusive ex-boyfriend has cut off her access to money but remains beyond the law’s reach. Plausible characterizations more than compensate for a twist that’s telegraphed too blatantly. This insightful exploration of the physical and emotional toll of domestic violence will resonate with many. Agent: Toby Peake, Peake Assoc. (U.K.) (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

'A crisp crime yarn: no muss, no fuss, no stone unturned'  –Kirkus Reviews

’This insightful exploration of the physical and emotional toll of domestic violence will resonate with many’  –Publishers Weekly

'The pacy, twist-filled narrative boasts excellent writing, vividly drawn characters, an eye-opening depiction of domestic violence, and a tragic yet satisfying ending’  –Booklist

'A cracking read, tautly suspenseful'  –Booklist on Dreams of Fear

'A crisply written crime novel that methodically reveals the pieces of a complex puzzle’  –Kirkus Reviews on Dreams of Fear

From the Publisher

Chilling, unique, and creepy

The Sun on Deadly Dance

2021-09-15
Methodical police work unravels the mysteries linked to two battered wives a generation apart.

Veteran North Devon DCI David Vogel is the first to arrive at a bizarre murder scene. Thomas Quinn lies dead in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor. Across the room, his wife, Gillian, who’s called the police, lies huddled on the floor, apparently in a state of shock. While the evidence points to her as her husband’s killer, she may also be his longtime victim. Bonner counterpoints Vogel’s investigation of the Quinn murder with the story of Lilian St. John, who, back in 1997, suffers regular abuse at the hands of her husband, Kurt. In addition to physically assaulting Lilian, Kurt has also cancelled her credit cards and sent two “goons” to watch her. While Vogel gathers tons of evidence, including testimonials of innocence from Gillian’s devoted son, Greg, and her close friend Sadie Pearson, nothing brings him closer to clearing her of involvement in the murder. Confirming the injuries she suffered at the hands of her late husband only strengthens the case against her. Lilian goes on the run only to be pursued by Kurt, and when she takes decisive action, it backfires on her. Bonner’s procedural, Vogel’s fourth appearance, focuses as much on the investigative team and Vogel’s dogged, meticulous pursuit of the truth as on the suspense surrounding the identities of the miscreants. The closing chapters offer the solution to the mystery surrounding Thomas Quinn’s murder and explain the link between Gillian and Lilian.

A crisp crime yarn: no muss, no fuss, no stone unturned.

Kirkus Reviews