Katinka Jones, the agony aunt for Girls Together magazine, is at a loose end in Swansea and decides to pay a surprise visit to one of the magazine’s regular correspondents, who goes by “Amista”. Arriving at a strange house perched atop a mountain, everything matches the descriptions in the letters; same cat, same views, same dashing widower, Carlyon. But there is a problem – nobody here has ever heard of the mysterious “Amista”. 

As more weird mysteries emerge and the shadow of murder looms over the mountain, the feisty Inspector Chucky joins Katinka in the search for the truth in this lurid love letter to Gothic melodrama – an experimental thriller in which Brand flexes her talent for delivering twist after delicious twist. 

Publication date: 10/05/2025 

Author: Christianna Brand

Brand: British Library Publishing

Number of Pages: 256

Binding: Paperback

Dimensions: 190 x 130 mm