A killer stalks the streets of Leeds, a city in England's industrial north. Every man is a suspect. Every woman is at risk. But in a house on Cleopatra Street, women are fighting back.It's the eve of... Read More
Description
A killer stalks the streets of Leeds, a city in England's industrial north. Every man is a suspect. Every woman is at risk. But in a house on Cleopatra Street, women are fighting back.
It's the eve of the 1980s. Police officer Liz Seeley joins the squad investigating the murders. With a violent boyfriend at home and male chauvinist pigs at work, she is drawn to a feminist collective led by the militant and uncompromising Rowena. There she meets Charmaine—young, Black, artistic, and fighting discrimination on two fronts.
As the list of victims grows and police fail to catch the killer, women are too terrified to go out after dark. To the feminists, the Butcher is a symptom of wider misogyny. Their anger finds an outlet in violence, and Liz is torn between loyalty to them and her colleagues and job.
In this novel based on the true events of the Yorkshire Ripper murders and the feminist arson campaign it triggered targeting porn outlets, Ajay Close combines the tension of a police procedural with the power and passion of the Women's Lib movement. By turns emotional, action-packed, and darkly funny, What Doesn't Kill Us reveals just how much the world has changed since the 1970s—and how much it hasn't
Details
- Price: $17.95
- Pages: 400
- Carton Quantity: 48
- Publisher: Saraband
- Imprint: Saraband
- Publication Date: 19th November 2024
- Trim Size: 5.08 x 7.76 in
- ISBN: 9781913393960
- Format: Paperback
- BISACs:
FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
FICTION / Literary
FICTION / Feminist
Reviews
A Times best new crime fiction pick
“Finely crafted, vividly detailed … reminiscent of [Pat] Barker … brusque, rebarbative, unsentimental … [and] wittily realized.” Times Literary Supplement
“Panoramic … the parallels with failures in today’s criminal justice system are unmissable in this uncompromising novel.” Times best new crime fiction February 2024
“This book is a must read. Ajay has a uniquely raw and authentic voice. She conjures up atmosphere like no other.” Maxine Peake
“Close transports us to the time and place beautifully, evoking all the sights, sounds, smells, and attitudes of Britain – and that part of Britain in particular … It is the depiction of the social mores of the time that makes this essential reading.” Alistair Braidwood, Snack Magazine
“An eye-opening read about womanhood and how some of the struggles of nearly 50 years ago are still present now.” Chloe Mullis, Buzz magazine
“Combines a gripping page-turner … with a wider, excoriating, examination of the misogyny, racism and extremism that continue to blight so many lives today … riveting, thought-provoking, with acutely observed and convincing characters … Close is such a talented writer that she prompts us to consider these issues as a by-product of the story; there are no lectures here, nor any conclusions but our own.” Edinburgh Reporter
“Stunning.” Catherine Taylor
Author Bio
A killer stalks the streets of Leeds, a city in England's industrial north. Every man is a suspect. Every woman is at risk. But in a house on Cleopatra Street, women are fighting back.
It's the eve of the 1980s. Police officer Liz Seeley joins the squad investigating the murders. With a violent boyfriend at home and male chauvinist pigs at work, she is drawn to a feminist collective led by the militant and uncompromising Rowena. There she meets Charmaine—young, Black, artistic, and fighting discrimination on two fronts.
As the list of victims grows and police fail to catch the killer, women are too terrified to go out after dark. To the feminists, the Butcher is a symptom of wider misogyny. Their anger finds an outlet in violence, and Liz is torn between loyalty to them and her colleagues and job.
In this novel based on the true events of the Yorkshire Ripper murders and the feminist arson campaign it triggered targeting porn outlets, Ajay Close combines the tension of a police procedural with the power and passion of the Women's Lib movement. By turns emotional, action-packed, and darkly funny, What Doesn't Kill Us reveals just how much the world has changed since the 1970s—and how much it hasn't
- Price: $17.95
- Pages: 400
- Carton Quantity: 48
- Publisher: Saraband
- Imprint: Saraband
- Publication Date: 19th November 2024
- Trim Size: 5.08 x 7.76 in
- ISBN: 9781913393960
- Format: Paperback
- BISACs:
FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
FICTION / Literary
FICTION / Feminist
A Times best new crime fiction pick
“Finely crafted, vividly detailed … reminiscent of [Pat] Barker … brusque, rebarbative, unsentimental … [and] wittily realized.” Times Literary Supplement
“Panoramic … the parallels with failures in today’s criminal justice system are unmissable in this uncompromising novel.” Times best new crime fiction February 2024
“This book is a must read. Ajay has a uniquely raw and authentic voice. She conjures up atmosphere like no other.” Maxine Peake
“Close transports us to the time and place beautifully, evoking all the sights, sounds, smells, and attitudes of Britain – and that part of Britain in particular … It is the depiction of the social mores of the time that makes this essential reading.” Alistair Braidwood, Snack Magazine
“An eye-opening read about womanhood and how some of the struggles of nearly 50 years ago are still present now.” Chloe Mullis, Buzz magazine
“Combines a gripping page-turner … with a wider, excoriating, examination of the misogyny, racism and extremism that continue to blight so many lives today … riveting, thought-provoking, with acutely observed and convincing characters … Close is such a talented writer that she prompts us to consider these issues as a by-product of the story; there are no lectures here, nor any conclusions but our own.” Edinburgh Reporter
“Stunning.” Catherine Taylor