About
In the hallucinatory light and heat of a Mediterranean island, London geologist Peter Nicholson arrives to inspect a granite quarry where a worker has died under suspicious circumstances. Hired to write as damning a report as possible, Peter brings his young mistress and pushes his wife and family to the back of his mind. But his blithe plans are disrupted by the arrival of the dead man's widow, hell-bent on revenge; a fax from his wife announcing her pregnancy; and a threatening dispute with the quarry owners.
By the time the home office instructs Peter to drop the case, it is too late. He has already stumbled into a web of blackmail, deception, and murder.
By the time the home office instructs Peter to drop the case, it is too late. He has already stumbled into a web of blackmail, deception, and murder.
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Reviews
"Parks's books are like crystals: multifaceted, hard-edged and radiant. But this one is positively volcanic. . . Smolderingly brilliant."
Booklist
"A dark, brilliantly realized thriller."
Library Journal
"In terms of storytelling, Shear comes on strong. The tension builds as Parks dangles his lures and clues before the reader, and there is an almost Hitchcockian brand of witty menace to many of the episodes."
San Francisco Chronicle