Alison realises that the solicitor of her first crime case is Patrick, and that means she has to work with him despite her resolution to stay away from him. That Monday they go to see the woman they have to defend. It is Madeleine Smith, who is accused of murdering her husbnad. The man was stabbed several times, and when the police arrived, they found the man dead in his bed, and she was sitting on the floor and put up no opposition to being taken away. The postmortem showed that Edwin did not fight his attacker, so it means that he was killed while he was sleeping. After spending some weeks in prison, Madeleine was granted bail and now she is living with her sister, Francine.
Alison and Patrick go to see her. Madeleine does not deny killing Edwin. She says that Edwin told her that he was leaving her that night, and she drank too much. The next thing she knows Edwin is dead, but she does not remember anything. Madeleine is ready to plead guilty, but Alison tells her that she shouldn't rush as they need to analyse everything. The first thing that she needs to do is talk to a psychiatrist. When Alison asks her about the relationship between her and her husband, Madeleine clams up.
On the way back Patrick seduces Alison again despite her idea to stop their affair. Alison feels guilty, but from then on she has no doubts to follow Patrick where he takes her.
From the interviews with Madeleine that follows, Alison learns that Madeleine's marriage was far from perfect. He was cruel and dictatorial towards her. Some of Madeleine's acquaintances tell her how badly Edwin treated his wife. A doctor testifies that he treated Madeleine twice for suspicious injuries: once for cigarette burns on her hand, and another time having scalding her thigh allegedly after she spilt water from the kettle. Alison gets Madeleine's son's account from that night, and the boy explains how that weekend he went home because he had been invited to a party. His father beat him when he returned home because he claimed that he was late even though he was earlier than his curfew. Then he locked himself up and heard his parents argue. The next day his mother dropped him off at the station, and it was at the boarding school where he heard about what his mother had done.
During the hearing Madeleine pleads not guilty, as advised by Alison, and Alison thinks that they could get a sentence for manslaughter, which would make a difference to life.
I think that the novel is too full of Alison's relationship with Patrick. I don't like how she is so weak around Patrick, who I think is a bully. Her husband is not an angel either. When she tries to do something to fix their marriage and suggests they get away one weekend, he does not seem to make an effort. He criticises what she is wearing. Mind you, Alison does not behave well as she keeps drinking and drinking, and she passes out. This is a turning point, and Carl tells her that he can't cope with this. The next week Carl tells her that he is taking Matilda for a few days to visit her gran. Instead of thinking about her behaviour, Alison goes and takes her love to her daughter's home. I really can't understand this woman. Even when she is with Patrick, she has the nerve and hypocritically sends a text to Carl, saying that she loves him and Matilda. When they return home, Alison tries to talk to Carl, but he ignores her. They have a big row, and Matilda hears them and becomes upset. They reassure her, saying that they are not getting a divorce, and they love her very much. Then on Monday Patrick tells her that he wants to see more of her, and she doesn't say anything against it. I really can't understand her.
Apart from that, Alison is getting texts from an unknown number, insulting her and hinting that they know about her and Patrick. I wonder who the person behind these messages is. Could it be that Carl knows?
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