A well-observed domestic drama turns half way through the book into a compulsive, emotional thriller. We are told right at the start that baby Sam is kidnapped. Then in alternating chapters we are given the family’s first few months in Africa and the year leading up to their decision to go there. They are medical consultants with two girls, aged 11 and 6, and the unplanned baby son. The tussles within the family are beautifully portrayed; should they all uproot or just the husband? It is his research into the links between lymphoma and HIV that the institute in Botswana is interested in. They do all go. The months of adjustment are equally fascinating. Then the tragedy hits, the tension is ratcheted up and you will find the book very hard to put down as the search for baby Sam unfolds. It is an excellent read, highly recommended. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Emma and Adam are doctors at the top of their fields and so when they are offered the chance to take their three children to Africa for a year for a research placement it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. It's going to be an experience they'll never forget. But for all the wrong reasons. When Emma arrives home one night to the sickening sight of an empty cot, their family's dream adventure turns into their worst nightmare. Thousands of miles from home and from anyone who can help, they must discover the truth. Is this a random abduction, a tragic accident or something far more sinister?
'Utterly gripping. A tautly coiled spring of suspicion and suspense which builds to a devastating ending' Mail On Sunday
'Complex and baffling. Jane Shemilt builds layer upon layer of tension in a novel you won't be able to put down' Tess Gerritsen
'Thrilling' Sunday Express
'Taut and thought-provoking' Sunday Mirror
'Thrilling, yet written with depth and subtlety, and tender insight into parental love' Tessa Hadley
'Gripping to the last page!' My Weekly
Author
About Jane Shemilt
While working as a GP, Jane Shemilt completed a postgraduate diploma in Creative Writing at Bristol University and went on to study for the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa, gaining both with distinction. She was shortlisted for the Janklow and Nesbit award and the Lucy Cavendish fiction prize for Daughter, which is her first novel. She and her husband, a Professor of Neurosurgery, have five children and live in Bristol.
