Synopses & Reviews
Six months after her husband's sudden death, Leonora Galloway sets off for a holiday in Paris with her daughter Penelope. At last the time has come when secrets can be shared and explanations begin...
Their journey starts with an unscheduled stop at the imposing Thiepval Memorial to the dead of the Battle of the Somme near Amiens. Amongst those commemorated is Leonora's father. The date of his death is recorded as 30th April, 1916. But Leonora wasn't born until 14th March, 1917.
Penelope at once supposes a simple wartime illegitimacy as the clue to her mother's unhappy childhood and the family's sundered connections with her aristocratic heritage, about which she has always known so little.
But nothing could have prepared her, or the reader, for the extraordinary story that is about to unfold.
Review
"Goddard has crafted a marvelously intricate plot, deftly and subtly unveiling, through different narrative voices, the mystery at the core of this intense, shocking tale." Publishers Weekly
Review
"In the best tradition of British storytelling, here murder, deceit, family honor, and intrigue are intricately woven into a compelling drama of decadent British aristocracy set during World War I....Enthralling to the final page." Library Journal
Review
"A superbly plotted romantic thriller." New York Times
About the Author
Robert Goddard graduated from Cambridge University and worked as an educational administrator before becoming a full-time novelist. The author of sixteen bestselling novels, including Borrowed Time, Into the Blue, and Sight Unseen, Goddard lives in England, where he is at work on his next novel.