Subtle eeriness and unsettling feeling throughout but it never really amounted to much and felt slightly repetitive - but maybe the point was to highlight the monotony of Mrs Fingal’s sad life with the Evanses? 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. It’s such a pleasure reading one of your reviews when you find a book you are so enthusiastic about!

This time it looks like an old copy has been scanned and retypset by computer (mistaking e's for c's, missing off the first speech mark, and so sticking in the second in a section of narrative, mistaking 'fl' for a capital H. So when Josh and Maisie bond with Mrs Fingal, over ice-cream and gentle toddles, it’s only natural that they all decide she should must move in with them once home. All the more haunting for its grounding in apparent normality – the flat, characterless feel of the suburban setting is brilliantly evoked.We owe a debt of gratitude to the publisher Valancourt, whose aim is to resurrect some neglected works of literature, especially those incorporating a supernatural strand, and make them available to a new readership. 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. Josh and Maisie Evans are Good Samaritans and enjoy lending a helping hand to lonely elderly ladies. Right from the very start, Dale hints at the Evanses’ true motivations for befriending these fellow Brits, with Maisie targeting Lena while Josh works his magic on Mrs F.

Soon after, they are on holiday in Italy, and encounter the disgruntled Lena Kemp and her aunt Cynthia Fingal. Poor Cynthia is first besotted, then befuddled by Josh but he’s a lecherous old creep with eyes only for young woman and his sordid scrapbook. On the back cover there's a blurb from the Buffalo News that most perfectly describes A Helping Hand as "A little gem of a thriller . She’s as happy as a sandboy with me and Josh knowing just what she likes, and anything coming in new from the outside might only upset her again.In the second chapter of the book there is a bit written in Italian and then towards the end of the book a few more conversations in Italian. In truth, Lena is selfish, irritable and impatient – qualities that Maisie soon turns to her own advantage by listening to Lena’s woes. For those who think they’ve seen everything the crime genre has to offer, this is an example of how it can keep rewarding. Auntie Flo had lived with them for years until her death, leaving the Evans's her Estate, such as it was.