Hurrah - you'll be happy to hear that my final experience of Hardwick was better than the previous two (here and here). Although, I'm not telling you to rush out and get hold of this one, it was a much better read than the other two.
There are effectively two stories in this novel set in a small town in Iowa; the story of Rudy Peck, a college student who goes on trial for murdering his girlfriend, and that of Joseph Parks and Anita Mitchell who follow the trial and attend the public gallery each day, out of what is really only morbid interest. Joseph and Anita become friends and each day take the proceedings to pieces, and believe that Rudy Peck is innocent. The novel is a playing out of this relationship as well as the trial of Peck. I suppose what hooked me into this novel was reading on to find out whether or not Rudy would be acquited, but I liked the way that Hardwick wrote about Joseph and Anita and their private lives.
Like the other VMC Hardwicks, this has just been published the once with the original green cover. I like the picture which is reminiscent of the story. So that's it for Hardwick for this challenge; she's written other novels but I have to say that I'm not hugely keen to seek them out.
2*
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