As with A Helping Hand, I loved the characters and thought the narrative was a lot of fun. The pacing was great until the third part, where it felt certain elements had been skimmed over in an effort to wrap it all up… it needed more time to fill in gaps, but this was just where the POV shifts throughout the book - some perspectives felt neglected at times. It’s just a feeling. They take care of her, there’s no one else, poor thing. But I don’t know why they do it. They seem kind, they take care of her – but they don’t care for her.’ (p. 214) What ensues is a sinister tale of greed and misplaced trust, further complicated by a romantic entanglement gone awry. I can’t talk like this to Lena. She shuts me up. She can’t see outside herself, you see. And she’s common. There’s never any conversation, she hasn’t the patience to listen to anyone but herself.’ (p. 55)

With her eye for moral bankruptcy and what lies beneath seemingly respectable façades, Dale creates a world that is uniquely, wonderfully horrifying.’ Spectator Celia Dale took everyday domestic situations and gave them a bitter twist. In Helping with Enquiries there are only three main protagonists, their story revolving around the murder of the mother. In A Helping Hand the vulnerability of the elderly is masterfully portrayed. Dale won the 1986 Crime Writers Association Veuve Cliquot Short Story Award for Lines of Communication which appears in her short story collection, A Personal Call and other stories which show that Dale had the short story down to a fine art. Her final book in 1988 was Sheeps Clothing. At first, all is sweetness and light at the Evanses following Mrs Fingal’s arrival; but slowly and stealthily, the tone beings to change. In essence, Maisie treats the old lady like a child, confining her to bed for long periods and scolding her for the little accidents and spillages that occur. Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe.It’s a good thing really that Mrs. Fingal is not a particularly sympathetic character. Good for the reader that is. Maisie Evans, so experienced in the care of the elderly knows just what to do. … A fascinating portrayal of dysfunctional relationship, resentments, greed and opportunities very sharply observed’ Paul Burke, Crime Time FM Both Celia Dale's parents were actors – her father was the noted stage and television actor James Dale (1887–1985), her mother Marguerite Adamson. [2] She was a cousin of the novelist Sarah Harrison. [3] She was married to the journalist and critic Guy Ramsey, until his death in 1959. [4] Work [ edit ] Soon after, they are on holiday in Italy, and encounter the disgruntled Lena Kemp and her aunt Cynthia Fingal. The Evans’s agree for Mrs Fingal to come and live with them, as a ‘paying guest’. The reader becomes complicit in the abuse, as Dale writes Cynthia, the victim, as a clingy, needy woman, who latches on to men and flirts.

There’s no bodies turning up. It’s bloodless in its entirety, yet quite chilling in its portrayal of the cruelties and interactions of everyday life. Celia Dale took everyday domestic situations and gave them a bitter twist. In Helping with Enquiries there are only three main protagonists, their story revolving around the murder of the Not very much is known about the author Celia Dale except for a few scant details. Celia Dale was born in 1912 and she was daughter of the actor, James Dale and was married to the journalist and critic, Guy Ramsey until his death in 1959. She worked in Fleet Street and as a publishers adviser and book reviewer. Some of her books were dramatised on radio and TV. Dales first book appeared in 1943 but it was her later novels where she branched out in to the realms of psychological crime. In all, Dale produced thirteen novels and a collection of short stories.

As Graziella bonds with Mrs Fingal, encouraging the old lady to build up her strength by walking again, she senses that something is decidedly off. While the Evanses may be in charge of Mrs Fingal’s wellbeing, they don’t seem to care for her, not in the way Italian families would…

Beneath the suburban respectability of cups of tea and genteel chitchat, however, emerges a different tale: one of ruthless greed and exploitation, and suffocating, skin-crawling terror.Another twisted tale from Celia Dale and one that I can’t help but think could’ve only come from someone writing in their later years. This feels like Dale reflecting on fears of the elderly, she herself was in her 70s when she wrote this, and it’s an effective one. As Maisie soon discovers, Lena feels she has been saddled with taking care of her aunt – a burden she so clearly resents as it prevents her from living a more exciting life. In truth, Lena is selfish, irritable and impatient – qualities that Maisie soon turns to her own advantage by listening to Lena’s woes. Moreover, Mrs Fingal is equally unhappy with Lena, viewing her as common, self-centred, and hard – a perception she duly shares with Josh. Maisie and Josh, the abusers, are both deeply unlikable, but Maisie's hard and no-nonsense approach to care and nursing is recognizeable and at times even feels right. The scheme proves watertight, and the women frequent betting shops, libraries, bingo halls, supermarkets, the post office (on pension days) and park benches (in fine weather), marking out their next target.

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. Moving in with them is the ideal solution - one that is satisfactory to all parties. In summary, then, an icy, utterly terrifying domestic noir that will chill you to the bone. All the more haunting for its grounding in apparent normality – the flat, characterless feel of the suburban setting is brilliantly evoked. Celia Dale’s writing is quiet, clever, subtle – and terrifying. I can’t think of anyone whose stories of suspense I appreciate more.’ Ruth RendellFrankly, dear, I don’t. It would only unsettle her. She’s settled into our little home so well that I think it’s really only kind to leave her to her own little ways and routines. You know what old folk are, they get used to things being just as they like them, just as they’re used to. 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.’ (p. 118) We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin. The queen of suburban horror . . . a sharply observant writer with a great eye for detail, her accuracy, understanding and quiet wit made her writing a cut above the run-of-the-mill crime novel.’ The Times