'An epic devastating majestic mystery. Clever richly imagined and outright thrilling' Chris
Whitaker Berkeley California 1944 : A former presidential candidate is assassinated in one
of the rooms at the opulent Claremont Hotel. A rich industrialist Walter Wilkinson could have
been targeted by any number of adversaries. But Detective Al Sullivan's investigation brings up
the spectre of another tragedy at the Claremont ten years earlier: the death of seven-year-old
Iris Stafford a member of the wealthy and influential Bainbridge family. Some say she haunts
the Claremont still. The many threads of the case keep leading Sullivan back to the three
remaining Bainbridge heiresses now adults: Iris's sister Isabella and her cousins Cassie and
Nicole. Determined not to let anything distract him from the truth - not the powerful influence
of Bainbridges' grandmother or the political aspirations of Berkeley's district attorney or
the interest of Chinese first lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek - Sullivan follows his investigation
to its devastating conclusion. Chua's page-turning debut brings to life a historical era rife
with turbulent social forces and ground-breaking forensic advances when access to power and
therefore justice hinged on gender race and class. 'Riveting' Daily Mail 'Intriguing'
Sunday Times 'Vividly intoxicating' Janice Hallett
