Only Graziella, the innocent pregnant woman from Italy, can bring some light into this dingy, oppressively bland suburban setting. Josh and Maisie Evans are a seemingly unremarkable middle-aged couple on holiday in Italy, where they meet Mrs. With Maisie’s background in nursing, the couple like to offer ‘a helping hand’ here and there, acting as caretakers to people in need, especially those with no relatives or other support.

I think it’s the apparent ‘normality’ of the setting that makes it so frightening -the fact that stories like this could be playing out behind the net curtains of seemingly ordinary and caring homes. Valancourt Books has recently published new editions of two of Celia Dale's novels, A Dark Corner and this book, A Helping Hand.Mrs Fingal takes a liking to Mr Evans, and soon the suggestion is made that she move out of Lena's house in Reading, and into the room at the Evans's recently vacated by Auntie Flo. D. James in her writing and next time I read any of her work I will go in with slightly different expectations. All the more haunting for its grounding in apparent normality – the flat, characterless feel of the suburban setting is brilliantly evoked. Mrs Fingal, a wealthy widow, finds the couple a refreshing change to her resentful niece and their understanding and sympathy to her situation, her loneliness and need for companionship, makes them the perfect people to look after her. For instance, we see them sizing up Mrs Fingal’s situation, working out how much the old lady might be worth and establishing whether there are any other living relatives besides Lena.

Auntie Flo had lived with them for years until her death, leaving the Evans's her Estate, such as it was. As the narrative unfolds, the reader can clearly see how the tone of Maisie’s behaviour towards Mrs Fingal changes over time, from gentle chivvying and chiding to downright bullying and neglect.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Celia Dale excels at presenting gentle tales of ordinary people who do extraordinary, wicked things while still living happily in normal society. Moreover, Mrs Fingal is equally unhappy with Lena, viewing her as common, self-centred, and hard – a perception she duly shares with Josh. It’s bloodless in its entirety, yet quite chilling in its portrayal of the cruelties and interactions of everyday life. The one and only thing I found to be on the negative side is that right after a rather stunning twist the story comes to a quick, almost rushed ending which was a bit disappointing, but in the long run it's really more about the getting there, and overall the novel is a true gut puncher.