Description
Book Synopsis''Gripping, stomach-churning . . . Marwood is in a class of her own'' LISA JEWELL
''Heart stopping'' SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
''A ripped-from-the-headlines thriller . . . I couldn''t put it down'' MARK EDWARDS
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Sun-drenched glamour and obscene wealth hide the darkest of secrets and lost girls in this ripped-from-the-headlines thriller.
1985
For twelve-year-old Mercedes, La Kastellana is the place she calls home. It is an island untouched by the modern world, with deep-rooted traditions - though that is all about to change with the arrival of multimillionaire Matthew Meade and his spoiled young daughter, Tatiana. The Meades bring with them unimaginable wealth, but the price they will all pay is far darker than Mercedes and the islanders could ever have imagined.
2016
Robin is desperately searching for her seventeen-year-old daughter Gemma, who has been missing for over a year. Finding hersel
Trade Review
A stunning, genre-defying novel, poetic, immersive and as dazzling as the Mediterranean sun even as it pulls the reader through the darkest corridors of human behaviour. I was totally mesmerised, from the beautiful, slow-burn opening chapters right through to the gripping, stomach-churning finale. Alex Marwood is in a class of her own -- Lisa Jewell
Traditional values encourage silence about sex-trafficking and murder in this heart stopping novel . . . Wrenching . . . A richly imagined novel -- Crime Book of the Month * Sunday Times *
A ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that is both compassionate and chilling . . . I couldn't put it down -- Mark Edwards
Drenched in the Mediterranean sun . . . This thriller travels to some very dark places: missing girls, cruel traditions, abusive fathers. Where it shines brightest, though, is in its insightful, compassionate depiction of the difficult relationship between Robin and Gemma * Observer *
Gripping, timely and beautifully written. Marwood blends story-telling prowess with characters so real that we inhabit their predicaments quite viscerally. The result is irresistible. -- Sophie Hannah
This meticulously plotted tale tacks dexterously between past and present, and the unfolding revelations feel both shocking and inevitable . . . Staggering emotional force: beautiful and terrifying * Irish Times *
A stiletto of a novel: heart stopping and devastating -- Jenny Colgan
A blisteringly immersive summer read. Paradise has never been so dark and the world of the super-rich so terrifyingly believable. I'm still thinking about these characters days after reading -- Emma Styles
Money, greed, glamour and exploitation all play out in this gripping thriller * Woman's Weekly *
Topical, chilling and beautifully written * Big Issue *
Compellingly immersive * Irish Independent *
