Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley is on compassionate leave after the murder of his wife. But when the body of a woman is found in an isolated London cemetery, he is prevailed upon to come back to work, to help the new temporary department head with the case. His former team at the Yard isnt finding the cunning, yet vulnerable new chief up to the job.The murder trail leads to the New Forest, a beautiful and strange place. There, Lynley and his former partner, Barbara Havers, find that the roots of the crime are in a long-ago act of violence that has poisoned subsequent generations, and the outcome is both tragic and shocking. THIS BODY OF DEATH is a multi-layered story, a jigsaw puzzle that is skillfully structured to keep the reader guessing all the way through. Its a magnificent achievement from a writer at the peak of her powers.