Author:Robert Goddard
Harry Barnett thought he had left his military career behind, so he is startled when two figures from his past turn up on his doorstep after fifty years. An old friend has organised the reunion to end all reunions: a weekend in the Scottish castle where the ex-comrades took part in a psychological experiment many years before. They haven't seen each other since.
As they set off on their all-expenses-paid jaunt to Aberdeen, the old friends are in high spirits. But the cheerful atmosphere is quickly shattered by the apparent suicide of one of their party.
When a second death occurs, a sense of foreboding descends on the group. It appears that the past is coming back to haunt them, a past that none of them have ever spoken about. Their recollections are all frighteningly different. So what really happened?
Then when one of them uncovers an extraordinary secret, he becomes convinced that they will never leave the castle alive...
The master of the clever twist
—— Sunday TelegraphGoddard rarely disappoints... Meticulous planning, well-drawn characters and an immaculate sense of place... A satisfying number of twists and shocks along the way
—— The TimesWhen it comes to duplicity and intrigue, Goddard is second to none... A master of manipulation
—— Daily MailOne of Britain's finest thriller writers
—— Time OutCombines the expert suspense manipulation skills of a Daphne du Maurier romance with those of a John Le Carre thriller
—— The New York TimesWe could recognise her characters as easily as our colleagues if we saw them on the bus . . . an absorbing, portentfull depiction of Italian society, where superstition and old taboos still exert a powerful grip. Brunetti is in typically quizzical form. Shrewd yet appealingly emotional, he acts as a seductive guide to a country, and a city, depicted as slowly sinking under the weight of legal sleight-of-hand and pernicious networks of influence among the great and the good
—— Rosemary Goring , The HeraldA welcome addition to a hugely popular series with an unparalleled feel for the glorious city of Venice
—— Waterstones Books QuarterlyWonderful
—— Mirror