Dark family secrets can be murder … ‘Joan Aiken’s triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others’ New York Times Book Review

Married to an ambitious but feckless architect and living in the pretentious show home they can ill afford, Jane is forced to return to work, leaving her children in the care of a less than reassuring childminder. As the weeks pass, her disintegrating marriage and the discovery of her husband’s secrets lead Jane into a battle to save both herself and her children from an explosive summer of hatred, jealousy - and murder.

This claustrophobic thriller, based on events from the author’s own life and her struggles as a young widow, marries the desperate ring of truth with all the added horror of Joan Aiken’s gothic imagination.