Deadly Endings, a review by Toni Morrison. An intelligent thriller, with all of the elements of a great novel. Initially, the writer teases with some fascinating and apparently unrelated background stories ranging from the Swinging Sixties in London's Chelsea, to the inequalities of the British Edwardian epoch. As the novel progresses the distances relating to the character's lives and the two periods narrow. By the time you get to the last 100 pages, when the plot and protagonists blend in a beautifully descriptive Barcelona, the excitement builds to a crescendo that makes it impossible to put down. The characterisation is wonderful, just like real life, the writer sometimes gives detailed background and at other times drip-feeds the reader throughout the novel. Apart from the elegant prose and the creative use of euphemisms, the novel has been deeply researched and contains subtle clues into its sub-plots. However, the most important element for me was the sagacious campaign for women's rights, the fight against fascism and the support for victims of poverty during the first half of the Twentieth Century. All of which was written as an exciting thriller. I could not recommend this novel more highly.