An award-winning mystery in the series that launched Fox TV and Hulu's Murder in a Small Town, by "a master of the psychological thriller" (Booklist). "Wright is fully [Ruth Rendell's] equal in psychological studies of compulsion." —Kirkus Reviews Winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Novel The First Ever Mystery to Win the Canadian Authors' Association Literary Prize for Fiction Maria Buscombe was a housewife living in Sechelt, British Colombia, until seven years ago when she suddenly abandoned her family. Now it seems she has returned—just in time to be murdered. What made her leave? What made her return? And who was sending her money and photographs of her daughter all that time? These are the questions nagging at Sergeant Karl Alberg as he searches for Maria's killer. Meanwhile, Alberg's longtime companion Cassandra Mitchell is doing some nagging of her own. Alberg had promised, after all, to hang up his policeman's hat. "Another triumph for Wright." —The Idaho Statesman "Her characters are totally recognizable people whose actions are the result of complex motivations and who strive to rebuild their lives on the rubble of too many demolished dreams. Powerful reading for all readers, not just mystery fans." —Booklist