Despite these seismic historical events, the image that is often most commonly-associated with the 1920s is that of the Bright Young Things. The country is mourning its dead, and thousands upon thousands of women are living without husbands, sweethearts, fathers, brothers and sons. We seem to be blessed with a burgeoning historical crime fiction scene in Britain at the moment and Leonora Nattrass is one of the most impressive newcomers. She sees them as she mudlarks on the shores of the Thames, she meets them as she wanders the streets and she starts to dig into the mystery of what happened to Mercy Roberts, a vanished girl whose name Carmel was forced to use by the preacher, but whose reality “still sometimes drifted through people’s thoughts like a trail of smoke from a bonfire”.

This is historical crime fiction, but its message still rings loud and clear 100 years on, within the tandem narratives of two women wronged by a master manipulator. I was over the moon to hear The Reading Agency and the Radio 2 Book Club had chosen Other Women for discussion. Bodie has her own views about the real culprit, but she becomes increasingly unsure – as does the reader – about her own judgment.This is an author with a talent for characterisation and scene setting, and her ear for authentic dialogue is sharp and true. But as Beatrice starts to eagerly anticipate their meetings it becomes evident that feelings are growing stronger.

They stood for hours outside the cottage where the murder had happened, and they paid the policemen on duty to let them pick flowers from the cottage garden as souvenirs. To anyone looking in from the outside, they seem like a normal, happy family – until two policemen knock on her door one morning and threaten to destroy the facade Kate has created. It appears authentic, with the petty details of office life, and renting rooms in clubs and from frosty landladies. I found Kate, his wife, a far more interesting character, whose only motivation was taking care of her daughter, but who could see through Tom. Other Women" was based on the 1924 grisly murder and dismembering of pregnant Emily Kaye in a Sussex bungalow by Patrick Mahon, a philandering husband.Sadly, I felt that everything felt predictable and rather clichéd from the straightforward prose style to the way the story hits every expected milestone. I liked the way the book unfolded from the contrasting two POVs of the murdered lover and the murderer's wife.