Blow Your House Down - Virago Modern Classics (Paperback)

Inspired by the reign of the Yorkshire Ripper, it raised a theme that would later rear its head in the media coverage of the Ipswich murders - how the serial killer is often mythologised with a label, whereas the women are just "prostitutes". Despite its black humour, it is a deeply political book -- Belinda Webb * Guardian *
Barker's creative vision is as in touch with the psychologically primordial as Melville's * Harper's *
Swift, spare, and utterly absorbing ... [Barker] makes us see her characters from within ... and thereby reveals the full individuality and humanity of women who have got short shrift both in literature and in life -- Katha Pollitt * New York Times Book Review *
Mrs. Barker's feminist argument is clear enough - sexual violence puts all women at risk, there are no ''good'' women and ''bad'' women, the victim of a sex crime is herself treated as a criminal * New York Times *
A courageous and disturbing novel -- Elizabeth Ward * Washington Post Book World *
Barker's talent for gently sifting through the hidden depths of the human psyche is awesome * Nova *
Barker's creative vision is as in touch with the psychologically primordial as Melville's * HARPER'S *
Swift, spare, and utterly absorbing ... [Barker] makes us see her characters from within... and thereby reveals the full individuality and humanity of women who have got short shrift both in literature and in life * NY TIMES BOOK REVIEW *
Barker's talent for gently sifting through the hidden depths of the human psyche is awesome * NOVA *