Mouths of Babes [Paperback]

Stella Duffy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

"Nobody understands the dirty little secrets of the human heart better than Stella Duffy."-Val McDermid

"The clever money should be on Duffy when the crime-writing Oscars are dished out."-Daily Telegraph

Saz Martin is settling into motherhood with her partner Molly and their baby daughter Matilda. Saz has vowed not to take on any more private investigator cases, wanting nothing to threaten the peaceful life they have built together. But when her former school friend Will Gallagher-the now famous TV presenter-comes calling, there's no way she can hide from her own dark memories . . .

Stella Duffy grew up in New Zealand and now lives with her partner, the playwright Shelley Silas, in London, where she was born.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Repercussions from a teen prank turned deadly fuel the U.S. debut of Duffy's popular U.K. series featuring lesbian investigator Sally Saz Martin. Taking a temporary break from cracking cases, Saz happily minds her baby daughter, Matilda, in London while her physician partner, Molly, brings home the bacon. It's a contented life until Janine Marsden, a 20-year-old skeleton from Saz's closet, resurfaces. An emotionally ravaged victim of the sadistic bullying game in which Saz and others participated, Janine first contacts Will Gallagher, the leader of the group and now a TV celebrity. At Will's urging, Saz tracks down their other old classmates, including a filmmaker-turned-teacher and a religious trophy wife. The survivors agree to meet with Janine, hoping to prevent her from contacting the media, but the past refuses to stay buried. Duffy pulls no punches in unraveling this knot of teen brutality, which serves as a potent reminder of the mindless cruelty found both on the playground and in the adult world. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Sally Martin was part of the supercool gang at school. The gang played some mischievous—and sometimes cruel—pranks on their classmates, one of which resulted in a terrible tragedy, which the gang members tried to forget as soon as they left school. Now an adult, Sally has cut all ties with her former gang friends, changed her name to Saz, come out as a lesbian, married her lover, found a job as a part-time private investigator, and become a mother. But the past can never be completely forgotten. One day, Saz receives a panicked call from one of the gang members telling her that a blackmailer knows their dirty secrets and wants “justice.” The gang members meet to decide what to do, but the decision they make results in more tragedy. This latest entry in the Saz Martin series is all dark secrets and lies, subtle psychological twists, mounting suspense, and a dreadful feeling of inevitable catastrophe. Readers will be as intrigued as they are repulsed by the weaknesses, vanity, and misplaced loyalties of the characters in this taut, riveting, finely paced read. --Emily Melton --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852428570
• ISBN-13: 978-1852428570
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,525,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The consequences of bullying, April 12, 2008

By 

Sage320 (Newport News, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mouths of Babes (Paperback)

What would you do if you had done things in your past that you would like to forget and your past showed up to remind you of your cruelty?

Saz Martin and her partner Molly are embarking on a new happier phase of their lives. Molly has given birth to their daughter Matilda and is preparing to return to her work as a doctor at a local hospital. Molly's pay check means that Saz can give up her career as an investigator and become a stay at home parent for Matilda. Since Saz's work often resulted in her being seriously injured, this seems to be a perfect solution and she is quite satisfied with the arrangement, until a voice from her childhood reaches out to destroy her peace. Will Gallagher is a famous TV star and someone that Saz hasn't talked to in many years, nor does she want to talk to him now. When they were younger, they traveled with a pack of three other people and they led a very rough lifestyle, one that Saz would like to forget and deny. Will finally manages to make contact though and informs Saz that one of their victims, Janine Marsden, a girl they tormented in school, is trying to blackmail him. She insists that the only thing that will stop her is if the group agrees to meet with her. Since they haven't seen each other in years, Will wants Saz to take the job of locating the other people and bringing them together. Saz doesn't want to do this, doesn't want to face Janine, but she's more terrified of Molly finding out the type of person she once was. She finds herself leaving Matilda with her ex-lover Carrie and deceiving Molly as to what she is doing. Eventually, she isn't sure which is worse, having Molly find out who she was or what she is willing to do now.

Mouth of Babes is extremely topical in a time when it's popular for young people to post videos on the Internet of themselves beating up other people. The people who do the bullying usually grow out of the behavior and come to regret what they did in later years, but they seldom face the consequences of their actions. Duffy shows quite clearly that the bully's remorse does not erase the results on the victim. She uses the technique of juxtaposing scenes of Saz and who she is now with flashbacks of the teenager that Saz was. In some ways, Saz was as much a victim of the group as Janine was and the reader is torn between admiring Saz and the person she has become and being appalled at her previous behavior. The final face off between Saz and Janine is dynamic and demonstrates that, even years later, the act of being a bully can have consequences never imagined and can continue to involve innocent people.

Duffy is an accomplished writer and presents a sophisticatd mystery. There are several strands that must be resolved for the story to be complete and none of them have an easy answer. One of the most challenging comes at the end when Molly discovers in a dramatic fashion what has been going on and presents Saz with a definition of relationships that doesn't fit with the normal patterns of lesbian fiction. It's an engrossing book to read with lessons that will leave the reader with a lot to ponder.