Wendy Percival

The discovery of a 100-year-old murder in a client’s family history leaves Esme Quentin bewildered by her client’s curious reaction.

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But with no instruction to find out more, Esme instead turns her attention to clearing the dilapidated outbuilding at her new cottage. Amongst the junk she finds a 17th-century map associated with the name Chalacombe, a local family with an intriguing and mysterious history.

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As Esme begins to unpick the threads of the family’s story, she is plunged back to a time when lawlessness ruled the high seas and piracy was rife.

The arrival of an unwelcome visitor raises questions which Esme cannot answer, and in a desperate search for the truth, Esme stumbles upon a bizarre and disturbing crime.

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Has she inadvertently uncovered a link between the Chalacombe family’s enigmatic past and the 100-year-old murder? But who might be threatened by such a revelation now, in the present day? Who has got the most to lose?