A family tragedy. A buried secret. What lies hidden in the flames?
A dense, bitterly cold fog has settled over the Wye Valley when
Bristol Coroner Jenny Cooper is called to the scene of a dreadful
tragedy: in the village of Blackstone Ley, a house has burned to the
ground with three members of a family inside.
Though
evidence of foul play is quickly uncovered, it isn’t long before the
police investigation is drawn to a close. It seems certain that the fire
was started by one of the victims, Ed Morgan, in a fit of jealous rage.
But their infant son is still missing and Ed had left a message for his
surviving wife, Kelly Hart, telling her that she would never find the
child . . .
As Jenny prepares the inquest, she finds
herself troubled by the official version of events. What could have
provoked Ed’s murderous rampage? How might the other, guarded
inhabitants of the village have been involved? And what could the
connection be with the mysterious abduction of a little girl ten years
ago?
Battling to supress gruelling events in her own
life, Jenny soon becomes entangled in another perplexing inquiry that
may have surprising links to this one. Can she unearth Blackstone Ley’s
secrets, before it’s too late?