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Published in USA
Apr 2009
352 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Such a pretty girl. Four years old; well-loved by her young mother, Grace. But there’s something ... off about the child. Her deathly fear of water; her night terrors; most of all, her fixation with a photo of an Irish seaside town called Coldharbour.
“Sylvie, tell me about your picture. Why’s it so special, sweetheart?” My heart is racing, but I try to make my voice quite calm.
“That’s my seaside, Grace.” Very matter-of-fact, as though this should be obvious. “I lived there, Grace. Before.”
I sit very still for a long slow moment. Cold moves over my skin.
“I don’t know about it,” I say.
“Don’t you, Grace?” She seems surprised.
Every once in a blue moon, a masterful writer dives into Gothic waters and emerges with a novel that—like Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, or, more recently, Patrick McGrath’s Asylum—simultaneously celebrates and transcends the genre. Welcome Margaret Leroy to the clan.
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"Heavy with atmosphere and rich in detail, Leroy's prose lures readers into a disturbing murder mystery." - Publishers Weekly.
"Leroy's delicate psychological insight falls to pieces under the weight of solving a preposterous murder mystery." - Kirkus Reviews.
"There is quite a bit of suspension of disbelief .... However, those who like Victorian gothics will enjoy getting to know Sylvie and Grace." - School Library Journal (Adult Books for Teens)
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Margaret Leroy grew up in the New Forest and studied music at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She has worked as a music therapist, playleader, shop assistant and social worker. Her books include three non-fiction books, Miscarriage, Pleasure and Some Girls Do, and a story for children, Aristotle Sludge. She has also written widely for magazines and newspapers, and appeared on numerous radio and television programmes. Her first novel, Trust, was published in 1999 and has been translated into five languages.
Margaret Leroy is married with two daughters and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames. Visit Margaret at http://www.margaretleroy.com/
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