A suspenseful, atmospheric new psychological crime novel from Germany’s most successful living female authorAn old farm, a deserted landscape, a dark secret from times past with fatal consequences for the present.In the tranquil northern seaside town of Scarborough, a student is found cruelly murdered. For months, the investigators are in the dark, until they are faced with a copy-cat crime. The investigation continues as they struggle to establish a connection between the two victims. Ambitious detective Valerie Almond clings to the all too obvious: a rift within the family of the second victim. But there is far more to the case than first appears, and Valerie is led toward a dark secret inextricably linked to the evacuation of children to Scarborough during World War II.Horrified at her last-minute discovery, Valerie realizes that she may be too late to save the next victim.

A dark secret hangs over the old rose gardener's house in the village of Le Variouf. And all the clues seem to point to its inhabitants' past—to the years of World War II, when the idyllic island of Guernsey was occupied by German troops...The young teacher Franca Palmer is at the end of her rope. Her marriage is reaching a crisis point, and she barely feels capable of continuing to face the demands of her career, her husband, and day-to-day life. In a mad rush she leaves her comfortable home in Berlin and flees to the island of Guernsey in the English Channel; there she rents herself a room in the old rose gardener's house in the village of Le Variouf. In a short time, a peculiar, guarded friendship develops between her and her host, Beatrice Shaye. The older woman has lived on the charmingly situated property for many years with Helene Feldmann—tied together by fate in a relationship that is marked with repugnance and hatred. The two women appear to be bound to one...