Assured classic British crime which feels like anything but a debut novel. In small town Derbyshire, two eight year old schoolgirls are kidnapped by a stranger in a car. One of them, Rachel, escapes albeit with no memories of the event but the other is never found. Thirty years later, following the suicide of the lost girl's mother on the anniversary of her disappearance, the case is revived and Rachel, now a genealogist and two police investigators reopen the case as another murder is uncovered, which appears linked to the events of way back. Atmospheric and wintery, and plotted with laser-like precision, a novel that never puts a foot wrong and, in sober fashion, offers all the thrills of a rigorous detection, together with psychological insights into loss and memory. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
Bampton, Derbyshire, January 1978. Two girls go missing: Rachel Jones returns, Sophie Jenkins is never found. Thirty years later: Sophie Jenkins's mother commits suicide.
Rachel Jones has tried to put the past behind her and move on with her life. But news of the suicide re-opens old wounds and Rachel realises that the only way she can have a future is to finally discover what really happened all those years ago.
This is a story about loss and family secrets, and how often the very darkest secrets are those that are closest to you.
Sarah Ward is a critically acclaimed crime and gothic thriller writer. Her book, A Patient Fury, was an Observer book of the month and The Quickening, written as Rhiannon Ward, was a Radio Times book of the year. Sarah is a former Vice-Chair of the Crime Writers Association, Trustee of Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival and an RLF Fellow at Sheffield University.
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