The claw

About this book

A small town in Suffolk finds itself under siege when it is terrorized by a macabre and brutal rapist. "The man was a loving husband and father, however outside his home he personified evil with each rape that he committed. The only thing that each victim can remember is the claw that he uses during each attack. With each brutal or deadly attack that is committed, police and the townspeople are terrified that they might be next..." *[From "Softwear" at GoodReads.com.]* Some critics have called this novel anti-feminist because Lofts shifts the focus of the subject [rape] from the victim to the wider impact on the community at large; how it alters perceptions of social responsibility and acceptable behavior. She expands to demonstrate economic shifts as well, such as how the fear of being on the street at night benefits taxi companies yet dampens business for local bars and restaurants.

Themes & subjects

About the author

Norah Lofts

27 August 1904 – 10 September 1983

Norah Lofts, née Norah Ethel Robinson was a 20th-century British writer. She also wrote under the pen names Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley. She wrote more than fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she also wrote some mysteries, short stories and non-fiction. Many of her novels, including her Suffolk Trilogy, follow the history of specific houses and their residents over several generations.