Heather Bishop is a sportswoman, a former Olympic cyclist whose dreams of the highest podium were shattered by an accident. On the long and painful road to recovery she meets, and falls in love with, her charismatic journalist boyfriend Ryan. But during a cycling trip meant to bring them together, Ryan disappears in puzzling circumstances. As Heather frantically searches for him at the frontier of Serbia and Bosnia, in a country haunted by the ghosts of past conflicts, she is confronted with version of him that she does not recognize. Along comes Inspector Simo Subotic, who is going to help her discover the truth. Crime fiction/thriller is an overcrowded genre. Many try, few succeed, in putting together the "right" mix of characterization, plotting and atmosphere that is required to rise above other productions, and be counted. Good crime fiction is much more than a ticking exercise (atmosphere: check. Conflicted policeman: check. Strong feminine character: check. Grisly murder: check...etc..). The whole mix has to "gel" somehow, if we want a new hero to enter the pantheon of acclaimed sleuths. Well, hat off to N. E. Solomons, she has done it! This damn well written debut thriller, set in a haunting landscape full of history and dark memories, has it all. Strong and just-the-good-side-of-complex characters, a brooding atmosphere and a spiraling plot that will keep you hooked, whilst also make you want to discover more about what happened, and is still happening, in that part of the world. Definitely 5 stars. I thank the publisher for a sample copy in return to a fair review.