Lady Wainwright presides over the gothic gloom at Belting, in mourning for her two sons lost in the Second World War. Long afterwards a stranger arrives at Belting, claiming to be the missing David Wainwright – who was not killed after all, but held captive for years in a Russian prison camp. With Lady Wainwright’s health fading, her inheritance is at stake, and the family is torn apart by doubts over its mysterious long-lost son. Belting is shadowed by suspicion and intrigue – and then the first body is found. This atmospheric novel of family secrets, first published in 1964, is by a winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger.

Julian Symons (1912–1994) was a notable writer of British crime fiction from the 1950s until his death, publishing more than thirty novels in total. He served as President of the prestigious Detection Club, won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, and is well known as the author of Bloody Murder, a classic history of crime fiction.

Author: Julian Symons

Brand: British Library Publishing

Number of pages: 240 pages

Binding: Paperback

Dimensions: 190 x 130 mm