Lost

A young widow, Alice Aron arrives on a Mediterranean island with her two young sons to visit her husband's birthplace. The place is sun-drenched and barren, its people poor, subdued by corruption, longing for independence that will not come, regarding everyone with suspicion and resentment. This is no island paradise. Within hours Alice's seven year old, Sam has disappeared. No-one admits to knowing anything. The authorities are inert and impotent, except for the unpopular detective Antoine Stuart, whose main drive to find the child seems to be his obsessive desire to nail the criminal Coco Santini, a man who is a model of violence and intimidation but against whom there is not a shred of evidence. Rumours spread that The Movement, idealistic freedom fighters turned amoral racketeers, are responsible for the abduction; or maybe Italian gangsters. In a small place ruled by ancient enmities hiding a child can be dangerous. Someone will test a loyalty too far. Lost is a riveting, tense thriller peopled with unforgettable characters in a place that comes to life before us.

Lucy Wadham was born in London and educated at Oxford. She has lived in France for the past 20 years.Her first novel, Lost, was shortlisted for the Macallan Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger for Fiction. She is also the author of Castro's Dream and Greater Love.