LONG LIES THE SHADOW

In Cape Town, Gin survives the car crash that kills her lover, Simon. Awaking from a coma, the accident is a blur. All she can remember is a white car, Simon's outstretched hand, and another woman's name, Leila, the last word on his lips. Detective Nick Retief suspects it was not an accident, but Gin finds it hard to cooperate when a step inside the sunless police station transports her straight back to apartheid, setting flowing again questions about her twin brother's death. Moving between Cape Town and London, events lead towards a final confrontation and a shocking conclusion.

Gerda Pearce was born in Mthatha, South Africa, in 1965. Wanting to escape apartheid, she moved to the UK in 1989 where she studied osteopathy. She is based in west London, is an examinations editor for the Royal College of Physicians, and is currently taking a masters in creative writing. She is working on her second novel, Transkei Road, a love story exploring themes of inheritance and loss. LONG LIES THE SHADOW is her first novel.