Before Shetland and Vera, Ann Cleeves wrote Burial of Ghosts, a thrilling standalone crime novel—now in print in the US.

For Lizzie Bartholomew, a holiday in Morocco will change her life forever. But not in the way she had hoped . . .

Lizzie had planned her trip to Marrakech as the perfect escape from her life—and her nightmares—in Northumberland. Abandoned as a baby, and having spent her childhood moving between foster homes, Lizzie certainly has much to escape from. Morocco is the perfect paradise she had imagined, especially when she finds herself on a bus sitting next to an intriguing man who is also travelling to fulfill his dreams.

After a brief affair with the fellow traveller, Lizzie returns to England. In the days that follow, she receives a letter that states that her mysterious lover has died and left a large sum of money for her in his will. But there are conditions attached to this unexpected legacy, conditions that will alter the course of Lizzie's life forever . . .