Frances Fyfield — The Playroom

Time Warner Paperbacks 2003 Paperback, 320pp. Kathryn and David Allendale appear the ideal couple: she, petite, pretty, an asset any husband might envy; he, dark, debonair and gifted. But beneath the smooth surface, unseen by their envious or admiring friends and neighbours, splinters are beginning to form. David suspects one of their two children is not his own. Kathryn struggles to keep the peace, to iron out family confrontations and maintain the calm of the lives together. But slowly things start to slip from her control. David's mood swings increase, becoming more irrational and violent. His drive to dominate and order the world he's created intensifies to the point of locking the playroom door and pocketing the key - a move that signals the final route into chaos that will disrupt their perfect world . (ISBN: 9780751532517). Good.