'Within five minutes, I couldn't put this book down...' • Advanced ReaderA Reunion Haunted By The PastAs the former pupils face an unnerving reunion, each must grapple with the need to conceal an ominous secret. Amongst the shadows of an eerie château on a secluded island in France, a small group of former pupils reunite under the most peculiar of circumstances. Ridgeview Grammar School, a place they thought they had left far behind, resurfaces in their lives when an unexpected invitation arrives.

It seemed like a dream come true when we first moved in. A chance to leave my stressful job behind and fix things with James. But something gnaws at me each morning as I wave my husband off to work from our gated community, accept a coffee from Lin, our housekeeper, and watch my kids play in these eerily perfect, car-free streets. When a neighbor’s body is found floating in a pool during a party, the other wives say it was a tragic accident. But there are also whispers about the family who lived in our villa before us—just vanished one day, they say.

December 2019. 34-year-old Leona Walsh is reported missing, igniting headlines around the country. Did she run away? Is she alive or dead? The police suspect foul play, but there is no proof. Despite an extensive search of the woodland on the edge of Exmoor where she was last seen, no trace of Leona was found and her disappearance is shrouded in mystery. Leona’s two daughters are living under the same roof as the main suspect – Matthew Walsh, their father. What must it be like for the girls growing up not knowing if their father killed their mother?

Detective Inspector Matt Lockyer has been side-lined to working cold cases, following a bad decision he made in a recent investigation in order to support a friend. Lockyer isn't too bothered though, as it gives him the chance to review some of the cases that keep him up at night and to look into his own brother's senseless killing, which still remains unsolved. On a quiet afternoon, Lockyer receives a phone call from prisoner Hedy Lambert—a woman he put inside for murder 14 years ago. She informs him that the man she was originally accused of killing has turned up alive and well.

Claire is excited to drop off a surprise workday lunch for her fiancé, Noah. It’s their anniversary, after all. But when the receptionist tells her that no one with Noah’s name works there, Claire thinks there must be a mistake. Noah isn’t picking up her calls. Her texts go unanswered. It turns out Noah has a different life . . . one with a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful house. Claire was never really in the picture.