Hot Water by Christopher Fowler
Synopsis
On a hot afternoon Summer sits beside a swimming pool in the South of France, waiting for her married lover, Steve, to arrive.
By the time he turns up, flight delayed and his family unexpectedly in tow, Summer has vanished from the villa. Hannah the maid is under strict instruction never to speak to any of the guests, but perhaps she knows something. After all, she found broken glass and blood on the property the day of Summer's disappearance.
As local police begin to sniff round, life for the villa's occupants begins to fall apart.
Reviews
'I loved this book. A group of entitled, comfortable Brits bring about their own destruction in the heat of the French sun. Witty, brooding and highly entertaining. I loved that simmering, relentless tension between apparently civilized people. A fable for our time.' Ann Cleeves
'Devilishly clever' Val McDermid
'A wickedly clever mystery – tense, atmospheric and laced with Christopher Fowler’s pitch-black humour. Will keep you guessing to the very last page.' Antonia Hodgson