Part of Inspector Lynley, book 19
First published 2015
Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers faces the end of her police career after recent departmental troubles. When a Cambridge poisoning case crosses her desk, she recognizes a connection from her past that could crack the unsolved murder. She pleads with her partner, Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, to let her pursue the investigation. Meanwhile, Lynley works the London connections of what becomes an increasingly disturbing case. The investigation leads them from a young man's suicide leap from a Dorset cliff to the peaceful countryside, where Havers discovers a web of hidden desires and lies beneath the rural calm. William Goldacre's death has left his family reeling from devastating consequences, but the detectives must determine if his suicide connects to the Cambridge poisoning. One mistake will destroy Havers' career, but the mounting pressure to solve this complex case pushes both partners to their limits as buried family secrets surface.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cambridge, Dorset, London
Period: Contemporary
576 pages · Hardcover · Viking
Content warnings: depression, suicide