Synopsis
It looked for all the world like a terrible, tragic accident. Susanna Morgan had gotten up in the middle of the night, tripped, fallen, and broken her neck. Yet when detective Justin Westwood inspects the victim’s apartment, he can’t help noticing that the details don’t quite add up. The glass on the bedside table is knocked over but there are no cuts on her body. The scrape on her knee looks suspiciously fresh. And then a terrified witness comes forward, confirming his worst fear.
This is no accident. This is murder.
Justin Westwood moved to East End Harbor to escape a dark, disturbing past, and to lead a quiet life. He had retreated from reality by taking a menial post with a small-town Long Island police department, drowning his troubles in mindless traffic duty and lots of booze. Now his dormant professionalism is awakened after Susanna’s brutal murder. This is just the kind of reality check that Justin needs, and he will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this madness - to find the meaning of the mysterious "Aphrodite" - and maybe save himself in the process.
The New York Times
… a smart, cynical thriller … Although the noble Justin begins life as a stock character, he's got a good mind -- keen enough to work out this Chinese puzzle of a plot and twisted enough to accept the macabre conspiracy theory on which it's built. — Marilyn Stasio