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They were the beautiful, rich and indulged daughters of a very famous man who adored them, but when Austin Willerby died, Julie-Anne and Austine found themselves, money, property and all, in the hands of a complete stranger. It did not seem as if Merlin Ravenscourt ('Only someone like Anabel could find a name like that!' commented Julie-Anne) meant to take his guardianship very seriously, but nevertheless, a little daunted by the sudden removal of so much protective affection, the two girls travelled from America to England to discuss their future. Their father's friends placed them on the plane with fond solicitude - and at the other end their guardian waited to receive them.
But something went wrong, and they found that they had flown from a world where they were loved and sheltered into one which more closely resembled a nightmare.
A tense and exciting novel, utterly convincing.
About the author
Jane Hatton was a child during World War II, and grew up in the unpermissive fifties, when career options for women were largely confined to Secretary, Nurse, Teacher, Physiotherapist. She opted for the first, thinking the skills required would be useful in her preferred career as a writer, but has also worked in hotels, as a sailing instructor, in a craft workshop and as a cookery demonstrator - a remarkably unstructured career - while continuing to write whenever there was a spare moment: sometimes there were not many! She has had two children's books published in the mainstream (a while ago now), followed by three novels in the genre of "literary fiction", plus The One Too Awful to Mention - which we don't mention - and has also independently published a long series about the Nankervis family and their friends and relations, all set in various areas of the West Country. Apart from writing, her interests include sailing, painting - including at one time scenery for the local pantomime - archaeology, photography and cooking. She lives in Cornwall, on her own these days, with a small black cat for company and a background of family and friends.
