For Tom Richmond returning to Yorkshire was an attempt to make peace with his past, but the death of a local biographer leads him straight back to the Denshaw family, and the death ten years earlier of eight-year -old Beth whose death has never been satisfactorily explained.
Despite his assurance to his superiors that he will only investigate the current case and not delve back into the earlier death of Beth, Tom finds himself drawn back into the earlier case.
The Denshaws are a prominent family and there was always at the time speculation that Peter Denshaw , Beth's step-father had something to do with her death. In her declining years Freya Cass, Peter's mother decides to take matters into her own hands, with tragic consequences.
This book deals with the tragedy of the death of a young person and the aftermath for those left behind. Margery Eccles is a master in, not only presenting us with an interesting crime to solve, but also in portraying the pain and suffering of those left behind, who have to pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward, always carrying with them the pain of the past.
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Lizzie Hayes
October 2000