Scandalous Risks (1990)

Like three of Susan Howatch's previous novels (Glittering Images, Glamorous Powers, Ultimate Prizes), Scandalous Risks is steeped in Church of England theology. Set in the contemporary cathedral town of Starbridge, a thinly disguised version of Salisbury, Risks heats up the religious material by combining it with the passionate story of a young woman's involvement with a married church official. A familiar combination to be sure, but one for which there seems to be an inexhaustible appetite. B