Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle Époque France to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart … FIRST in a bewitching new series
 
**Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**
 
`A wonderfully dark, intricately woven historical thriller spanning three generations … it will have you hooked from the very first page' B A Paris
 
`A gripping story of murder and black magic …Gustawsson slowly weaves together three seemingly disparate strands of her narrative with a skill that shows why she is such an admired crime writer in her native France´ The Times BOOK OF THE MONTH
 
`Intriguingly dark and vivid, and so cleverly told through three different time frames´ Essie Fox
 
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Three women
Three eras
One extraordinary mystery…
1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.
 
1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.
 
2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.
 
Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…
 
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`This novel is a whirlpool that draws you irresistibly into levels of darkness so much deeper than you can possibly be ready for´ Ambrose Parry
 
`I found myself racing through the book, always wanting one more page, one more chapter. A wonderfully creepy, unsettling read, with a superb twist in its tail´ James Oswald
 
`Gustawsson’s writing is so vivid, it’s electrifying. Utterly compelling´ Peter James
 
`I was hooked from the first page – a stunning and beautifully written gothic thriller full of atmosphere, intrigue and delight´ Alexandra Benedict
 
`Brilliant … the last chapters knocked me sideways, and it’s a long time since that’s happened´ Lisa Hall
 
`A dark world of elegance and grotesque … mesmeric´ Matt Wesolowski
 
`Harrowing, compelling, haunting, vivid, twisty and shocking! ´ Noelle Holten
 
`A powerful page-turner´ Livres Hebdo
 
***NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER IN FRANCE***
 
FOR FANS OF Laura Purcell, Stacey Halls, Bridget Collins, Anna Mazzola, Essie Fox,  Ambrose Parry and Laura Shepherd-Robinson
 
Praise for Johana Gustawsson
 
`A satisfying, full-fat mystery´ The Times
 
`Assured telling of a complex story´ Sunday Times
 
`A real page-turner, I loved it´ Martina Cole
 
`A bold and intelligent read´ Guardian
 
`Utterly compelling´ Woman’s Own
 
`Cleverly plotted, simply excellent´ Ragnar Jónasson
 
`A must-read´ Daily Express
 
`Gritty, bone-chilling, and harrowing – it’s not for the faint of heart, and not to be missed´ Crime by the Book
 
`A relentless heart-stopping masterpiece´ New York Journal of Book

Translated by: David Warriner