As this labyrinthine tale unfolds,Brodrick is able to bring off an impressive sleight-of-hand.While we read on, agog for the next revelation,it becomes apparent that we're being treated to character studies quite as rich as that in many a more ostensibly "literary'"novel.

Elizabeth Glendinning QC has lost faith in the legal system. In an attempt to restore it, she has secretly devised a scheme to bring back to court a guilty man - Graham Riley - whom she had successfully defended some ten years before. As part of an elaborate contingency plan, Elizabeth leaves the unsuspecting Father Anselm with a key to a safety deposit box, to be opened in the event of her death. Three weeks later she is found dead in the East End of London and, once the box has been opened, a chain of events is triggered as if from beyond the grave, leading Anselm to fulfil what Elizabeth has begun.

A powerful portrait of the dark heart of London and a tense thriller, The Gardens of the Dead confirms William Brodrick's growing critical reputation.