An audio book
Paul Copeland was born in Russia to doctor/academic parents. They were allowed to move to the USA if they did some petty spying. When Paul was 18, at summer camp, when he was supposed to be on guard duty his sister Camille and 3 of her friends went into the woods and weren’t seen again. 2 of the bodies were found, but not Camille’s. Paul’s mother left soon after. Paul’s now 38, a county prosecutor. His wife Jane died 5 years before. He'd started a charity in her name. His father had died 6 months before - he used to dig in the wood looking for bodies. His mother left the family, unable to cope. He has a daughter, Cana.
A body’s found with Paul’s address in the clothing. It’s one of the missing people from the wood incident. He’d changed his name from Gill Perez. His parents deny that the body can be their son. Paul contacts the dead man’s girlfriend – a beautiful Indian waitress who says that the dead man told her that Paul had lied about the wood incident.
Paul is prosecuting in a court case, trying to prove that 2 rich boys raped a 15 year old mother who’s a stripper. One of the boys’ fathers tries to bribe Paul, then threatens him.
Prof Lucy Gold (her TA is Larnee) has asked her students to submit anonymous pieces. The day after Gill's body is found, One of them recounts the event in the wood. She fails at first to work out who wrote the story (which is from her and Paul’s point of view), then contacts Paul. Lucy was Paul’s first girlfriend. Her father Ira had owned the camp and had been sued by the parents of the dead kids. Lucy and Paul had been in the wood when the murders happened. Lucy’s still single and has changed her name. She’s committed 2 drink-driving offences and still drinks.
Paul wins the case. One of the rich fathers has been trying to find evidence against him. It's discovered that the husband of his sister-in-law, Greta, has taken $100,000 from the charity. Greta claims he'd just borrowed it and asks Paul to let them off. Gill's brother might be involved with crime. Paul wonders whether the people trying to damage his reputation might target the judge too, before he passes sentence. He meets Lucy. He discovers that her institutionalised father had been visited by Gill. He visits Wayne, the man accused of the murders, who claims that though he did other murders he didn't do the ones involving Paul's sister. Gill had visited him. He discovers that Larnee had submitted the story, paid by a company of private investigators. He discovers that the Indian woman is a PI, specialising in trapping men and getting info. He talks to her and she confirms his theories.
Gill's brother is disabled. His sister is a lawyer. She says thay her family might be in denial about the body being Gill's because they want to keep the money the won in the lawsuit. She says that Paul's sister wasn't killed on the night.
A woman's body is found, buried 15-30 years before. A mother. Camille? Ira tries to kill Paul then kills himself. He had killed Gill. Lucy says to Paul that he can't rescue her. She's a drunk. She'd always loved him. Gill's mother tells him that Gill and Camille escaped and Paul's mother knew. She didn't tell his father. His Russian uncle tells him that she was about to leave and live with Camille when his father killed and buried her (that's the found body). He reads his father's KGB file.
Paul decides to agree that Greta's husband had asked to borrow the money, not steal it. Having gone to Moscow then married in the States, Camille returns. Paul and Lucy are in love. He visits Wayne again. He realises that Wayne got Lucy to distract him by threatening to tell people about Ira's drug habit. The epilogue ties up some loose ends.
I enjoyed it.
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