The Darkness Within

Book excerpt: Angela, Beatrice and Millie are three little girls living in Holland in the 1950's. Their mother is a manic depressive making life frightening and traumatic for them. When their father leaves, Mummy takes fate into her own hands with near-tragic result. The girls are taken away from her and go to live with Daddy and his new wife Aunt Agatha. Aunt Agatha treats them cruelly while Daddy, unable to cope with any more domestic upset, refuses to get involved to protect his daughters. Then Mummy dies in suspicious circumstances. Angela, Beatrice and Millie all escape in their own way through jobs, marriage and even moving abroad. For a while all seems well till Millie is diagnosed with a brain tumour. Angela and Beatrice look after her as best they can and she recovers only to be diagnosed with early-onset dementia as a result. Again Angela and Beatrice unite in their care for Millie but while they try to stimulate her mind through pictures and stories of the past they unearth many unanswered questions about the fate of Mummy: What motivated her? How did she die? Have any of them inherited her disturbed mind-set? Will they ever find the answers and finally have peace of mind and closure? When Daddy dies he leaves no clues and it is up to the girls to find out what really happened. But has time erased vital evidence?