Louise Widdows has never been happy in her marriage. From a generation where the woman's role was one of support and supplication, she provided both in exchange for a secure roof over her head. But her facade of gentility disguises two secrets: a child born in adultery and given away at birth, and a small inheritance she has always kept hidden. But then events align in her favour: her husband abruptly leaves her, and the father of her illegitimate son dies, allowing her the possibility of finding him after all these years.

Abandoning the shabby matrimonial home, she moves into a cottage and begins to blossom in her independence. But things are not destined to run smoothly. Two bodies are discovered near her old home, and she discovers that her husband has absconded with a charity's funds, as well as the contents of their bank account. Suddenly her new life seems very precarious indeed, putting in doubt that she will ever locate her unknown son.

* Featured on the Little, Brown website

About the Author
Margaret Yorke was awarded the 1999 Cartier Diamond Dagger for her outstanding contribution to the crime fiction genre. She was a past chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and the author of over 50 novels. She died in November 2012.

Reviews
Yorke has an extraordinary feel for the passions that lurk beneath unremarkable facades * Sunday Times *
The mistress of the skilfully spun suspense novel . . . her quiet, unemphatic style of narrative makes the story a compelling read * Sunday Telegraph *
Margaret Yorke's talent for scratching below the placid surface of people and places to reveal anguish and wickedness is matchless * Daily Telegraph *
This is a compelling and unsettling read. The sort of book that makes you check your locks before going to bed * Daily Mail *
There is not a word wasted in Margaret Yorke's deftly constructed crime novels, yet they have a hinterland greater than many novels twice the length. Her understanding of the faultlines that run through human beings is second to none * Diane Setterfield *



Book Information
ISBN 9780751552096
Author Margaret Yorke
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Sphere
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 220g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 164mm * 21mm