First published in 1999. This edition has been fully revised and edited.

Young Cassie Booth goes missing on her paper round. Then her bloodstained jacket is found in a boathouse belonging to Karl Wilding - but there is little evidence against him.

Meanwhile, a routine visit by Detective Inspector Pat North to appease persistent complainer Stephen Warrington soon spirals into something far more sinister. As his behaviour becomes increasingly obsessive, North suspects that Warrington has been involved in a far more horrific crime.

Only one of the men is guilty of Cassie's murder. But can the jury unravel the complex web of lies and deliver justice?

About The Author

Lynda La Plante

Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She is the author of nearly forty novels, all of which have been bestsellers. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RDC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing—and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows.

Lynda's original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmys, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Lynda is an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer's Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity.

Lynda La Plante is the first lay person to be awarded an honorary fellowship to the Forensic Science Society. In 2020 she launched the acclaimed Listening to the Dead podcast with former CSI Cass Sutherland, exploring forensic science and its impact on solving crimes.