Mr. Read has outdone himself [in "A Married Man"], blending for the first time with absolute success his preoccupations with domestic, social and political upheavals, and creating as a result a story full of suspense and subtleties.

[Some] readers will argue that there's not much suspense involved here. Because Mr. Read is composing a domestic drama he introduces a very limited number of characters. Therefore, it's immediately apparent who the killer must be. (p. 30)

But, I submit, the suspense is not really supposed to involve who the killer may be, but rather what effect the revelation will have on Strickland. And this bit of suspense Mr. Read orchestrates to maximum effect….

Few readers, on the other hand, will deny the subtlety with which Mr. Read has plied his craft. The skill with which he works into his plot England's 1973–74 political crisis, when the labor unions were literally causing...