From the bestselling author of AFTER THE CRASH ('a novel so extraordinary it reminded me of reading Stieg Larsson for the first time' Sunday Times), a thrilling intrigue about a murder that takes place in Monet's garden.
'Ends with one of the most reverberating shocks in modern crime fiction' - Sunday Times
This is the story of thirteen days that begin with one murder and end with another. Jerome Morval, a man whose passion for art was matched only by his passion for women, has been found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens at Giverny, where Monet did his famous paintings. In Jerome's pocket is a postcard of Monet's Water Lilies with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday.
Entangled in the mystery are three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive village schoolteacher and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream. All three of them share a secret. But what do they know about the discovery of Jerome Morval's corpse? And what is the connection to the mysterious Black Water Lilies, a rumoured masterpiece by Monet that has never been found...
'This elegant crime mystery shimmers as delicately as the paintings of Claude Monet that lie at its heart . . . A bestseller in France, it is a dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece' - Daily Mail
An enchanting tale that kept me absolutely hooked as Bussi cleverly breaks all the perceived rules of plotting in a story containing riddles within riddles . . . stunning' - Daily Express
A work of genius befitting the masterpiece by Monet at its heart . . . Simply stunning - DAILY EXPRESS
A bestseller in France, it is a dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece - DAILY MAIL
Bussi's portrait of the difficulties of investigating a closed community is fascinating, and the novel ends with one of the most reverberating shocks in modern crime fiction. - SUNDAY TIMES
A novel so extraordinary that it reminded me of reading Steig Larsson for the very first time . . . Bussi breaks every rule in the book, but I doubt I'll read a more brilliant crime novel this year - Sunday Times on AFTER THE CRASH