Morag Joss began writing crime fiction following a playful conversation with author P.D. James. Three "Sara Selkirk" mysteries followed, but it was Joss's superb novel of psychological suspense, "Half Broken Things," that prompted comparisons to both James and Ruth Rendell. "The Night Following" is a further departure, into the mind of a woman unmoored by marital betrayal and that of a man felled by sudden bereavement. Chance weaves together not only their conditions but also their destinies in a narrative of striking tension, inventiveness and compassion.