A gruesome discovery at an old children's home lays bare terrible secret's from Norwich's past in the second gripping mystery for Dr Ruth Galloway.

'The setting is enticingly atmospheric . . . a really intelligent murder story' Independent

Dr Ruth Galloway's forensic skills are called upon when builders, demolishing an old house in Norwich, uncover the bones of a child - minus the skull - beneath a doorway. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? Ruth links up with DCI Harry Nelson to investigate.

The house was once a children's home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the place. He tells him that two children did go missing forty years before - a boy and a girl. They were never found.

When carbon dating proves that the child's bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is desperate to put her off the scent by frightening her to death...

"The setting is enticingly atmospheric. I closed the book wanting to know more . . . as well as feeling the satisfaction that a really intelligent murder story can give" - Independent

"Griffiths's dryly humorous writing and the appeal of the two main characters make these books such a treat" - Guardian

"Bone-chilling stuff" - The Times

"The tension never fails and it builds to a fantastically gripping climax" - Eurocrime

"An enthralling page-turner that delights in complex characters" - Kirkus Reviews

"Griffiths nimbly weaves the mythological aspects of her story . . . with the complicated life of her feisty heroine" - Publishers Weekly