THE CRADLE IN THE GRAVE

What happens after the jury gets it wrong. Or does it?

For reasons he declines to illuminate, Laurie Nattrass suddenly leaves Binary Star Productions and hands over the documentary he’s been working on for several years to Fliss Benson, who would rather not be saddled with it. The feature focuses on the misguided testimony of pathologist Judith Duffy, which sent two woman to prison for murdering their children, and Laurie’s investigation, which got the doctor stricken from the medical rolls, set the mothers free, and led to the acquittal of another mother up on the same charges. Not only does the documentary bring up a tragedy within Fliss’ family, but two of the mothers are now having doubts about participating. Then one of them is attacked, another is murdered, and someone leaves cards with 16 identical numbers arranged in four rows of four at the crime scenes and sends one to Fliss. DI Gil Proust, DC Simon Waterhouse and his partner Charlie Zailer (The Truth-Teller’s Lie, 2010, etc.) step in to determine whether a vigilante has decided that the juries were right the first time around in determining that these were not unassisted crib deaths, a conclusion shared by the husband of one of the mothers. A tell-all memoir holds clues, but before they can be deciphered, more complications arise.

Hannah, who understands every neurotic twitch, blemish and lie a person is capable of, is just the thing for those who followed the Casey Anthony murder trial.