THE MISSING YEARS

The French Girl captivated readers with a twisting tale of psychological suspense. Now author Lexie Elliott heads to the foothills of the Scottish Highlands, where a woman's tangled family history comes back to haunt her.

After the death of her mother, London TV field producer Ailsa Calder inherits "The Manse," a centuries-old house in Scotland, the same place her father disappeared from when she was seven years old. Ailsa heads north with her half-sister Carrie, who is nearly a stranger to her, to oversee a protracted legal process in order to sell the property.

Struggling with disjointed memories of her childhood and the discovery of a locked room, Ailsa is unable to sleep--and spends her nights restlessly wandering the hallways. One night, she discovers an unfamiliar man inside searching for his sister, an odd woman who has taken to visiting the once-empty property. But that unsettling revelation is only the beginning of a series of peculiar happenings. The pervasive smell of smoke, the lack of wildlife on the grounds, and suspicious townspeople draw Ailsa into the dark history of the property, where the key to who she really is lies undiscovered.

Lexie Elliott grew up in Scotland, at the foot of the Highlands. She graduated from Oxford University, where she obtained a doctorate in theoretical physics. A keen sportswoman, she works in fund management in London, where she lives with her husband and two sons. The rest of her time is spent writing, or thinking about writing, and juggling family life and sport.