"Peter Dickinson is my own chosen demigod in the pantheon of crime fiction." --Laurie R. King For best-selling author Lady Margaret, the past is no longer a pleasant memory. Her first lover's mysterious death and the seeming inevitability of her inheriting the family's stately home are cast in new light by secrets unwillingly revisited. The first in a series of reprints of Peter Dickinson's mysteries, this classic British mystery will win fans currently engrossed in Downton Abbey. Praise for Peter Dickinson's mysteries: "A literary magician controlling an apparently inexhaustible supply of effects . . . Craftsmanship such as this makes for compulsive reading." --Penelope Lively "He is the true original, a superb writer who revitalises the traditions of the mystery genre . . . incapable of writing a trite or inelegant sentence . . . a master." --P. D. James "He sets new standards in the mystery field that will be hard to live up to." --Ruth Rendell "He has an eye and a mind and a voice like no other." --Donald E. Westlake "A fresh triumph . . . a simultaneous insight into kids and their minders, and emerging nations, and the concept of freedom - all done with consummate story-telling skill." --Peter Lovesey "Read this book carefully. It's a jewel." --The New York Times Review "Brilliantly imaginative first detective story . . .wonderfully convincing." --The Observer "Mr Dickinson is the most original crime novelist to appear for a long, long time." --The Guardian "Brilliantly original, as always." --Times Literary Supplement "Wry, witty, irresistible." --The Financial Times "Dickinson tops all his prizewinners with this stunning psychological thriller." --Publishers Weekly Peter Dickinson has twice received the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger. He lives in England and is married to the novelist Robin McKinley.