When her business partner, acclaimed art historian and university professor Dr Helena Drummond, disappears, Alexandra Quick is consumed by guilt. Shortly before she vanished, Helena had complained of being menaced by a stalker, and Alex had dismissed her fears as groundless. Now Alex, a former police detective, is determined to use her finely-honed investigative skills to find out what’s happened to her friend and colleague. 

But the more she uncovers, the more Alex realizes how little she really knew Dr Helena Drummond. As it becomes increasingly clear that the woman she thought she knew so well has been keeping a great many secrets from her, Alex must decide: is Helena a victim … or is she a killer?


Alex Quick is smart and capable.  Still recovering from a bad marriage and giving up a career she loved, she has bounced back to a certain degree with the help of her business partner.  I enjoyed the relationship details of the friendship between these two characters.  They were drawn to each other and worked well together, despite being quite opposite in disposition and lifestyle.  The build up to the central mystery was well done, the characters grew more developed as time went on, with Alex discovering she didn't know as much about her friend, or herself, as she thought.

All in all, a very satisfying read, I would be interested in further books based on these characters.