Helen Dunmore — With Your Crooked Heart

Penguin Books Ltd 2000 Paperback, 256pp. Louise married Paul, brother to Johnnie . Yet she doesn't get one man with this union - she gets two. Born twelve years apart in a one-bedroom flat in Barking, Paul and Johnnie are close: they're good at making money and make taking power look easy. But while Paul deals on contaminated land, Johnnie is adept at dealing in crime. And when Louise's relationship with the brothers is further complicated by the birth of her daughter, Anna, it seems nothing can ever break this triangle. Until Johnnie's self-destructive streak begins to threaten them all . (ISBN: 9780140286359). Good.