Dale, Celia - The Innocent Party

She was happy, safe in the joy of being now the only one for Dad, absorbed in caring for him. Twelve-year-old Linda Dalton is besotted with her father, Dennis, who can do no wrong. Everyone and everything else pales in comparison, including Linda’s sharp mother, Vera. When cracks suddenly begin to show in the family, Linda weaves a web of chaos and confusion that leads to a dramatic crisis. Each character falls victim to the demands and pitfalls of city life, manipulating one another as London roars in the background. An intensely human and surprising story this is perhaps Dale’s darkest novel, as we see Linda exposed to an adult world of death, desire and destruction and we begin to wonder: is there such thing as an innocent party?