A gripping novella from the New York Timesâbestselling author of the Inspector Banks Mysteries and a âmaster of the artâ (TheBoston Globe).
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Retired Cambridge professor Donald Aitcheson loves scouring antiquarian bookshops for secondhand treasuresâas much as he loathes the scribbled marginalia from their previous owners. But when he comes upon an inscription in a volume of Robert Browningâs poetry, heâs less irritated than disturbed. This wasnât once a gift to an unwitting woman. It was a threatâinsidious, suggestively sick, and terribly intriguing.
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Now Aitchesonâs imagination is running wild. Was it a sordid teacher-pupil affair that ended in betrayal? A scorned loverâs first salvo in a campaign of terror? The taunt of an obsessive psychopath? Then again, it could be nothing more than a tasteless joke between friends.
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As his curiosity gets the better of him, Aitcheson canât resist playing detective. But when his investigation leads to a remote girlsâ boarding school in the Lincolnshire flatlands, and into the confidence of its headmistress, he soon discovers the consequences of reading between the lines.
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Praise for Peter Robinson
âRobinson is equally skilled at reflecting procedural details and treating his flesh-and-blood charactersâdespite their flawsâwith compassion and humor.â âThe Miami Herald
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âRobinson is good at producing ingenious mysteries and this one doesnât disappoint.â âThe Sunday Telegraph on Friend of the Devil