A beautiful Cornish coastal village is the setting for a highly sinister conspiracy involving a kidnapped baby, mysterious monks and an almost irresistible new perfume...
'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book ReviewA beautiful Cornish coastal village is the setting for a highly sinister conspiracy involving a kidnapped baby, mysterious monks and an almost irresistible new perfume...
'Joan Aiken's triumph with this genre is that she does it so much better than others' New York Times Book Review
Martha works for an advertising agency, filming a TV commercial on location on the stunning Cornish coast. The client is the eccentric owner of a chemicals company that has invented a new, almost irresistible perfume, and Martha is in charge of shooting the romantic ads - unfortunately starring his beautiful but highly manipulative daughter-in-law.
Before long, Martha finds herself embroiled in the conspiracy over the perfume's true origin - to say nothing of a kidnapped baby, sinister monks, her own long-since vanished ex-husband and a series of exploding soup cans. And what of her own floundering love life...?
'Witty and acute ... a nice romantic thriller' Punch
Joan Aiken has an eye for original situations and characters ... a stolen formula, a kidnapped baby and a strange brotherhood keep the plot bubbling. An engaging story with one of the nicest babies I have met for a long time - DAILY TELEGRAPH
Witty and acute ... a nice romantic thriller - PUNCH
Brilliant light-hearted picture of search for missing formula ... very funny - SUNDAY TIMES
Joan Aiken (Author)
Joan Aiken (1924-2004) was born in Rye, Sussex. She was the daughter of the American poet Conrad Aiken, and her step-father was English writer Martin Armstrong.
Joan Aiken wrote over one hundred books for young readers and adults and is recognised as one of the classic children's authors of the twentieth century. Her best-known books are The Wolves of Willoughby Chase chronicles and the Arabel's Raven series, but she is also famous for her brilliant short stories. Joan Aiken received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the United States as well as the Guardian Award for Fiction. She was decorated with an MBE for her services to children's books.