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WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018!

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‘Scotland’s Outer Hebrides provides the sensuous setting for this impressive debut…a beautifully crafted novel’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Lovely atmospheric descriptions of Hebridean light and landscape’ – The Scotsman

A captivating story of a crumbling estate in the wilds of Scotland, its century-old secret and an enduring mystery…

Following the death of her last living relative, Hetty Deveraux leaves London and her strained relationship behind for Muirlan, her ancestral home in Scotland – now in ruins. As Hetty dives headfirst into the repairs, she discovers a shocking secret protected by the house for a hundred years.

With only whispered rumours circulating among the local villagers and a handful of leads to guide her, Hetty finds the power of the past is still affecting her present in startling ways.

‘There is an echo of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca in Sarah Maine’s appealing debut novel’ The Independent

*previously published as Bhalla Strand*

Publisher Review

Lovely atmospheric descriptions of Hebridean light and landscape * The Scotsman * There is an echo of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca in Sarah Maine's appealing debut novel * The Independent * A tremendous accomplishment. So assured, so well-judged, and with such an involving story to tell, this might be the author's fifth or sixth novel, not her first. A literary star is born! -- Ronald Frame, author of The Lantern Bearers and Havisham ...it came as a great surprise to learn that this was the author's debut novel. I predict great things for Sarah Maine * The Book Bag * Scotland's Outer Hebrides provides the sensuous setting for [this] impressive debut...[a] beautifully crafted novel. * Publishers Weekly * Maine skillfully balances a Daphne du Maurier atmosphere with a Barbara Vine-like psychological mystery...The setting emerges as the strongest personality in this compelling story, evoking passion in the characters as fierce as the storms which always lurk on the horizon. A debut historical thriller which deftly blends classic suspense with modern themes. * Kirkus Reviews *