Ashton Cadiston is a young, enthusiastic, and very determined trainee detective, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, his great-grandfather, and his great-great-grandfather. As he nears the completion of his training, he embarks on his very first investigation into the death of a noble family member under the watchful eye of his training sergeant. What was meant to be a simple case, quickly becomes a complex twist of lies, jealousy, greed, and murder in a century's desire for revenge. It is up to the inexperienced Cadiston to persevere. He can leave no stone unturned; he cannot allow himself to be silenced and must trust his instincts in his search for the truth to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

'A beautiful, wry love story' David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY 'I love this woman's writing. Golden sentences' Diana Evans, author of ORDINARY PEOPLE 'One of the year's most beautifully written books, THIS HAPPY traces the path to womanhood of Alannah from disastrous affair to no-less-comfortable marriage and beyond' The i, Best Books of 2020 So Far 'If you loved Sally Rooney's NORMAL PEOPLE, read this novel ... Darkly romantic ... Reminiscent of Eimear McBride's lyrical Joycean sentences' Vogue 'The best novel I have read all year' Sunday Business Post I have taken apart every panel of this, like an ornamental fan. But we stayed in the cottage for three weeks only, just three weeks, because it was cut short you see - cut short after just three weeks, when I'd left my entire life behind. When Alannah was twenty-three, she met a man who was older than her - a married man - and fell in love. Things happened suddenly. They met in April, in the first bit of mild weather; and in August, they went to stay in rural Ireland, overseen by the cottage's landlady. Six years later, when Alannah is newly married to another man, she sees the landlady from afar. Memories of those days spent in bliss, then torture, return to her. And the realisation that she has been waiting - all this time - to be rediscovered.

From a humble background in Barry, where his father was a butcher and local politician in the formative years of the new town, Cyril Lakin studied at Oxford, survived the First World War, and went on to become a Fleet Street editor, radio presenter and war-time member of parliament. As literary editor of both the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Times, Lakin was at the centre of a vibrant and radical generation of writers, poets and critics, many of whom he recruited as reviewers. He gained a parliamentary seat and served in the National Government during World War II. The different worlds he inhabited, from Wales to Westminster, and across class, profession and party, were facilitated by his relaxed disposition, convivial company, and ability to cultivate influential contacts. An effective talent-spotter and catalyst for new projects, he preferred pragmatism over ideology and non-partisanship in politics: a moderate Conservative for modern times.