The Last Man's Head Jessica Anderson 1970

Dustjacket synopsis:
"Detective Alec Probyn has his enemies too. His recent stand on police violence has led to his being suspended from duty. He has a growing suspicion that a vicious crime is about to be committed. All the more disturbing as the suspect and victim are both members of his own family.

"How can Probyn prevent this crime and its shattering consequences? In the savage resolution he discovers that his anti-violent stand has not magically cancelled out the violence in himself."

Quotes:
"Anderson writes with almost alarming exactness about states of mind that are hard to explain exactly..." - Isabel Quigley, Sunday Telegraph

First Paragraph:

'Just a few questons, Miss Maciver. Would you mind?'

Agnes Maciver went on weeding her lawn with a kitchen knife and spoke without looking at the solemn trousered legs at her side. 'That sounds very official, Alec.' Her voice was old and slow and rasping. 'Are they to be about my queer visitor?'

'They could easily turn out to be.'

'Now, I wonder what you can mean by that.'

From the Penguin paperback edition, 1987.

This page and its contents are copyright © 2000-01 by Perry Middlemiss, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Last modified: December 24, 2001.