“Wonderfully ingenious and altogether satisfying,” this French thriller follows the a mystery surrounding the sole survivor of a plane crash (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review).
Just after midnight on December 23, 1980, a night flight bound for Paris plummets toward the Swiss Alps, crashing into a snowy mountainside. Of the 169 passengers, all but one perish.
The sole survivor is a three-month-old girl—thrown from the airliner before fire consumes the cabin. But two infants were on board. Is “the Miracle Child of Mont Terri” Lyse-Rose or Emilie? The families of both girls step forward to claim the child. The Vitrals live a simple life, selling snacks from a van on the beaches of northern France. In contrast, the de Carvilles, who amassed a fortune in the oil business, are powerful—and dangerous.
Eighteen years later, a private detective tasked with solving the mystery of the girl known as “Lylie” is on the verge of giving up. As he contemplates taking his own life, Crédule Grand-Duc suddenly discovers a secret hidden in plain view. Will he live to tell it?
Meanwhile, Lylie, now a beautiful university student, entrusts a secret notebook into the hands of Marc, the brooding young man who loves her, and then vanishes. After Marc reads the notebook's contents, he embarks on a frantic search for Lylie.
But he is not the only one looking for her.
“Riveting! Bussi spins psychological suspense at its finest with this consuming tale.” —Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crash & Burn
“A novel so extraordinary that it reminded me of reading Stieg Larsson for the very first time.” —Sunday Times (UK)
