Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle poque France to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart FIRST in a bewitching new series

Intriguingly dark and vivid, and so cleverly told through three different time framesEssie Fox

A wonderfully dark, intricately woven historical thriller spanning three generations it will have you hooked from the very first pageB A Paris

This novel is a whirlpool that draws you irresistibly into levels of darkness so much deeper than you can possibly be ready forChris Brookmyre

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Three women
Three eras
One extraordinary mystery

1899, Belle poque 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 Qu bec. 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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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 tailJames Oswald

Gustawsson s writing is so vivid, it s electrifying. Utterly compellingPeter James

I was hooked from the first page a stunning and beautifully written gothic thriller full of atmosphere, intrigue and delightAlexandra Benedict

What a brilliant, brilliant book the last chapters knocked me sideways, and it s a long time since that s happenedLisa Hall

Harrowing, compelling, haunting, vivid, twisty and shocking!Noelle Holten

A powerful page-turnerLivres Hebdo

Fluid, skilful, fearsome and breathtaking the ending is horrifyingLa Marseillaise

***Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger***

A satisfying, full-fat mystery The Times

Assured telling of a complex story Sunday Times

A real page-turner, I loved it Martina Cole

Dark, oppressive and bloody, but it s also thought-provoking, compelling and very moving Metro

A bold and intelligent read Guardian

Utterly compelling Woman s Own

Cleverly plotted, simply excellent Ragnar J nasson

A must-read Daily Express

Bold and audacious R. J. Ellory

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 Books