First published 1997
Former homicide detective Bill Driver thought the Helena Warner case would stay buried forever. Twenty years after the Oxford student vanished, workers drain a reservoir and discover an entire house beneath the dark water. Inside lies Helena's corpse. Driver reopens the investigation he never truly abandoned. He believes he knows the killer's identity. Three of Helena's former friends have other plans. Ian Gilmore was her cold lover who cast her aside. Joan Poole was her jealous best friend who coveted what Helena possessed. Richard Wachmann was the gifted artist whose mind shattered after Helena disappeared. Now institutionalized, he guards secrets from decades past. The trio works to bury the truth deeper than the flooded house ever was. Driver pursues leads while bodies accumulate around him. Someone kills again and again, determined to silence anyone who threatens their freedom.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Helena, Oxford
Period: 20 Years Ago
280 pages · Hardcover · Hodder & Stoughton
Content warnings: death, murder, violence