Terrifying cautionary tale

The Favour By Nora Murphy, Macmillan, $37.99 .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

“Professional abuse” — controlling and abusive behaviour by doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals is the subject of this riproaring novel by a lawyer who knows all about it.

Nora Murphy is an expert in intimate partner violence, perpetrated by those with high-profile careers or respected positions in society, which puts their victims in a very difficult situation.

She's written a novel to show how this works, and how vulnerable the partners are when their husbands are psychopaths. Leah is a lawyer, married to a fellow lawyer for a short time when the abuse starts. Her busband wants her to be perfect for him, and when she isn't he banishes her to live in the basement, gets her fired, drives her to drink.

She spots something familiar in a young woman where she is buying alcohol and realises she is in the same position — a paediatrician married to a psychiatrist who is also gaslighting, bullying, isolating and dominating everything she does. So Leah does something about it. These two women can never know each other, but they can save each other.

Murphy has a good turn of phrase: “Last Wednesday, when I awoke in the basement guest room, my head pounding and pulsing like a car full of teenagers . . .” She employs it perfectly, sparingly and the result is a well-written, terrifying cautionary tale.

— Linda Thompson

With a mind to Kill by Anthony Horowitz, Penguin, $37 .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

The name's Bond, James Bond. Ian Fleming's first 007 novel Casino Royale was published in 1952, unleashing what would become a hugely successful book series, and a film franchise that continues nearly 70 years on. Fleming died way back in 1964 but the Bond legacy continues as the Fleming family have passed the baton on to younger writers.

With a Mind to Kill is Anthony Horowitz's fifth 007 novel and finds a middle-aged Bond recovering from a brainwashing episode by the Russians. Their plan is for James Bond to return to London and assassinate his longtime boss and mentor M. Initially it appears that he has been successful as a funeral and graveside ceremony send off M. The reality is more complicated than