Begars Abbey - V.L. Valentine Crime and even a state of

and even a state of grace

and uncertainty in her own path to parenthood

she thought they were the good guys

is unsurpassed' Michael Connelly 'A gorgeous prose stylist' Stephen King 'No argument: James Lee Burke is among the finest of all contemporary American novelists' Daily Mail'The greatest crime writer currently at work' Spectator'The reigning champ of nostalgia noir' New York Times'Masterly' Sunday Telegraph

Detective Chief Inspector of the Metropolitan PoliceSet in 1930s England

Begars Abbey - V.L. Valentine Crime and even a state ofA dark gothic delight' JANICE HALLETT, author of THE TWYFORD CODE'Inventive, lavish, twisty will keep you guessing until the very end' ALISON LITTLEWOOD, author of MISTLETOEWinter 1954, and in a dilapidated apartment in Brooklyn, Sam Cooper realises that she has nothing left. Her mother is dead, she has no prospects, and she cannot afford the rent. But as she goes through her mother's things, Sam finds a stack of hidden letters that reveal a family