Rose

"THE MOST INTERESTING AND RICHLY TEXTURED CRIME STORY OF THE SEASON."
--Time

The year is 1872. The place is Wigan, England, a coal town where rich mine owners live lavishly alongside miners no better than slaves. Into this dark complicated world comes Jonathan Blair, who has accepted a commission to find a missing man. As he begins his search every road leads back to one woman, a haughty, vixenish pit girl named Rose. With her fiery hair and skirts pinned up over trousers, she cares nothing for a society that calls her unnatural, scandalous, erotic. As Rose and Blair circle one another, first warily, then with the heat of mutual desire, Blair loses his balance. And the lull induced by Rose's sensual touch leaves him unprepared for the bizarre, soul scorching truth. . . .

"[SMITH] AT THE TOP OF HIS FORM. . . . It is fun, the well-plotted, dense fun of an intelligent, shadowy, literary enigma. . . . Brisk and edifying entertainment."
--The New York Times

"SUPERIOR . . . Rose has one of those powerfully involving plots that keeps you in an enjoyable dither, eager to turn the pages and reluctant to reach the last one."
--Chicago Tribune

"A JOY TO READ."
--The Washington Post Book World