This Way Out

In this third Inspector Quantrill psychological thriller, set in rural England, a decent, frustrated man meets a dynamic stranger who embodies the explosive force of his pent-up rage. Derek Cartwright and Hugh Packer share a similar dilemma: both are saddled with elderly in-laws whose presence seems to be ruining their lives. Sadistic bully Packer wants his father-in-law out of the way so he can acquire the old man's fortune. Cartwright, on the other hand, convinces himself that his motive is altruistic: he wants to free his wife from the burden of caring for her mother, a task she assumed in expiation for her guilty sense of relief when the couple's handicapped daughter died. Packer quickly realizes the possibilities and involves Cartwright--against his will--in a murderous plot in which each will kill the other's resident in-law. When Inspector Douglas Quantrill ( Fate Worse Than Death ) enters the case, his canny knowledge of human nature escalates the tension. Radley illuminates the ease with which an almost innocent slip can be a fateful step that inexorably slides into hell. (Nov.)