Bridget, Ellen, Kathleen and Alicia all fail to be honest with their children about who their fathers were leading to complications for the relationships of their sons and daughters.

David, Max and Vijay cannot talk about what they did before, during and after the Second World War despite recognising that misunderstandings are ruining the lives of people they care for.

Arnold, Matt, Monika, Maureen, even Ted constantly tell lies and leave important truths unsaid.

As siblings Susannah, Charles and Carl try to find their ways through life in the second half of the 20th century it becomes increasingly clear that, for all their individual flaws and frailties, much of what happens to them, and to those they care for, is wholly beyond their control – being dictated by the actions and inactions of people they could not know.

Part I – The Last Dance

“Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them”  Oscar Wilde

Ted Mottram, the outsider looking in, narrates his version of the network of relationships in the outwardly respectable Donaldson family in provincial Cheshire through the years following the Second World War.

Arnold and Alicia married for the wrong reasons – Arnold because she was perfect for his needs and Alicia to escape her family and because she is pregnant with his son.

Arnold has another son, not Alicia’s; Alicia has another child, a daughter, not Arnold’s and those children become very close as they grow up together.

When it matters deeply both Arnold and Alicia lie to their children – but perhaps that is because they do not know the truth themselves.

Confronting taboo subjects such as incest and love across a generation gap this is a compelling, thought provoking and enjoyable read.

Part II – Walking Alone

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke

Alicia’s son Charles did not expect his mother’s funeral to disturb the quiet routine of his comfortable life: he had never been close to her, indeed he had hardly known her.

On that day Charles learns more than he should have done of the history of Max, his friend and benefactor, and Monika, their housekeeper.

On that day he makes an enemy of his cousin whose greed and jealousy lead to blackmail, a joyless marriage and more than one unexplained death.

On that day, too, he quarrels with his sister, Susannah, leading them both to re-assess what is important in their lives.

Charles tries to explain his family’s misfortunes but he knows only small parts of the truth.

Part III – Runaways

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but also more useful, than a life spent doing nothing.” George Bernard Shaw

Alicia’s daughter, Susannah, has not had an easy life, her mother’s selfishness had seen to that.

At her mother’s funeral, the grandfather she had never known makes it her responsibility to search for the man behind her family’s problems. She reluctantly accepts the task but more than once the progress of her investigations is interrupted by something far more important to her: finding some sort of happiness. Which of the men in her life could be the soul mate she longs for?

After years of looking in the wrong directions and following false leads, it is only when the requirements of those two quests coincide that Susannah finds all the answers.

The Last Dance, Walking Alone and Runaways (The Iniquities Trilogy) were published between 2006 and 2008. The Last Dance won the David St John Thomas Prize for Self-published Fiction. Ten years after they were first published they have been extensively reworked into one.

Iniquities is available from Amazon and from High Street bookshops – you may need the ISBN Number  979-8-879902426