Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she's always wanted - but is it? She's exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she's beginning to miss her old life in London.
And then a couple - the Trehearnes - come to stay, and the story they tell about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married, is such a strange and mysterious one that Susan finds herself increasingly fascinated by it. And when the Trehearnes tell her that their daughter is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to London and find out what really happened...
安东尼•霍洛维茨，英国知名侦探小说作家、编剧。
一九五五年四月，霍洛维茨出生于伦敦一个富裕的犹太家庭。童年时期虽生活优渥，但并不快乐。据他回忆，作为一个超重又内向的孩子，经常遭到校长体罚，在学校的经历也被他描述成“残酷的体验”。八岁时，他就意识到自己会成为一名作家； 他 说：“只有在写作时，我才会感到由衷的快乐”。母亲是霍洛维茨在文学世界的启蒙者，不仅引导他阅读大量书籍，甚至在他十三岁生日时送给他一副人类骸骨。他表示，这件礼物让他意识到“所有人的最终结局都不过是白骨一具”。其父因与时任英国首相哈罗德•威尔逊的政客圈子过从甚密，为了自保，将财产秘密转入瑞士的隐秘账户。结果在霍洛维茨二十二岁时，父亲因癌症去世，大额财产下落不明使霍洛维茨与母亲陷入困境，自此家境一落千丈。
一九七七年，霍洛维茨毕业于约克大学英国文学与艺术史专业。之后他果然朝着作家之路迈进：...