Sextet - Sally Beauman (Journalists #3)

It is All Souls Night. In London, Lindsay Drummond is trying to rewrite her life and cure herself of her feelings for Rowland McGuire. She plans to sever the ties with this unfairly handsome man at a Hallowe'en party - but the party, in honour of the American film director, Tomas Court, is a strange one, and the consequences for Lindsay are surprising.

In New York, Lindsay's friend Gini Hinter is interviewing the actress Natasha Lawrence. Lawrence, appearing in the hit musical, Estella, is about to make a film in England with Tomas Court, her ex-husband. She is rumoured to be moving into the exclusive Conrad building, but her reasons for doing so remain hidden. Is she seeking asylum from her own past, from Tomas Court, or from the mysterious stalker who has pursued her and her son for five years - a stalker who may, or may not, have been permanently silenced?

Lindsay and Gini plan to spend Thanksgiving together but, before she leaves England, Lindsay encounters Rowland McGuire again, together with his friend, Colin Lascelles, who is working as Tomas Court's location manager. Possibly less truthful than he seems, and probably less guileless, Colin's plans - or plots - will create mayhem. As the characters gather for Thanksgiving, they find themselves within the precincts of the Conrad building - a sinister, haunting place, where anything can happen. The outcome could be fate or tragedy, it could be marriage - or murder.

In this compelling novel, Sally Beauman returns to the characters first encountered in the bestselling Lovers and Liars and Danger Zones. Part thriller, part love story, Sextet plays a dizzying game with the conventions of both genres. It is that rarity, a true romance: the twists of its plot are intricate, and its outcome - the stuff of dreams - is both artful and deeply moving.