Vera Hillyard. My aunt, and murderess. Faith Severn's life has long been overshadowed by the scandal of her aunt's execution for murder. For nearly 25 years she has tried to forget the woman she once spent her holidays with, who seemed such a perfect mother and caring sister. Now the time has come to piece together the mystery. What secret caused two devoted sisters to turn from love to bitter hatred? Was Vera born a killer...or was she driven to it? And can anyone ever really know the truth? Written in 1986, and set against the morally and politically tumultous backdrop of 1940s England, Ruth Rendell's first novel writing as Barbara Vine is a psychological masterpiece, a study in the dangers of a society in thrall to ideas of female respectability. This newly packaged 30 year anniversary edition comes with a foreword by the acclaimed writer Val McDermid. 'A rich, complex and beautifully crafted novel.' P.D. James