Dr Yvonne Carmicheal is a well respected scientist and academic, in her early fifties, with two adult children, and married to another scientist. She locks eyes with a stranger and, for some reason, is happy to go off and have sex with him in a broom closet in the crypt of the Houses of Parliament. The affair, and the man's penchant for public places, continues until something goes dreadfully wrong. The story begins with Yvonne and the fling, both on trial at the Old Bailey. The story slowly reveals what happened, who the man is, and how they got to be on trial.
Yvonne's marriage has had it's difficulties, but I can't say that helped me feel any sympathy. The 'thing that goes dreadfully wrong' did increase my empathy for her. The second half of the book becomes a courtroom drama. I read it quickly and wasn't disappointed with the ending. Yvonne, her lover and her husband all have a mix of positive and negative traits that provide plenty to reflect on.
Some readers might see the moral of the story as being about women being judged by different standards to men, but for me it was that smart middle aged women, who think they've moved beyond the foolishnesses of youth and the hoi polloi, are just as capable of making idiots of themselves as anyone else.
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