Abuse and exploitation of elderly people is a serious social problem that often goes under the radar. It's a big issue today, but it's not new, and over the years a number of crime writers have tackled it. Celia Dale's A Helping Hand, which appeared in 1966, is an excellent example. I wrote a short story on the subject myself - 'The Other Life'. And Martin Russell's 1988 novel House Arrest takes a similar theme and does something very different with it.
Maisie is a frail widow in her eighties who is easy prey so far as a trio of cowboy roofers are concerned. The smooth-talking Nigel ingratiates himself with her, while the menacing Dave and the sidekick Percy do the labouring. Maisie lives in a big house with extensive grounds, which she has kept after her husband's death so that her beloved Yorkshire terrier Ouncey can have the run of the place. But the bad guys are quick to spot her vulnerabilities and to exploit them.
Their campaign of financial and psychological terror is barely interrupted when Maisie's great-niece Anita comes to visit. But Anita gets a sense that something isn't quite right and, with the help of a neighbour, tries to do something about it.
House Arrest doesn't have the trademark Martin Russell twisty plot. It's a fairly straightforward suspense story, though as with all his books it's extremely readable. There's little doubt in my mind that he was trying to make an important social point about the way the police downplay concerns about the mistreatment of victims, especially older people, and he makes it quite well. However, I didn't find the villains particularly convincing. He could create strong characters, but here the most plausible character, and the most pitiable, is poor Maisie herself.
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