Winner of the CWA John Creasey/New Blood Dagger Award Its been ten years since Phoebe Marburys husband disappeared from their country manor, Streech Grange, when one afternoon her gardener discovers a decomposed body in the ice house. Now in her mid-thirties, Phoebe shares the manor with two unmarried friends, and the rumors in the village suggest theyre up to something Winner of the CWA John Creasey/New Blood Dagger Award Its been ten years since Phoebe Marburys husband disappeared from their country manor, Streech Grange, when one afternoon her gardener discovers a decomposed body in the ice house. Now in her mid-thirties, Phoebe shares the manor with two unmarried friends, and the rumors in the village suggest theyre up to something--witchcraft, lesbianism, child abuse. Chief Inspector Walsh is eager to find out for himself when hes called to investigate the body. What he discovers is a faceless, contorted corpse and three women who have no interest in helping out the police, and clearly know something theyre not telling him. Minette Walterss first novel gives a raw, contemporary spin to a classic mystery convention, and the result is splendid . . . an extraordinary debut (St. Petersburg Times).