The Forest of Souls

Description

A gripping psychological thriller, taking the reader from 21st century Britain to the darkest days of war-torn Eastern Europe. The cries of the innocent echo through the years... Her obsession with history has cost Helen Kovacs her life. Helen's research into the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe was a secret she kept from even her closest friend, Faith Lange. Now Faith, retracing Helen's last steps, is convinced that the man the police have arrested is not the killer. Journalist Jake Denbigh's investigations have led him to the same conclusion. Faith is disturbed by Denbigh's digging. Among the refugees from the concentration camps of Minsk were war criminals masquerading as victims. Could Faith's beloved grandfather Marek be hiding such a secret? And does the reason for Helen's murder lie in the mass graves of the Kurapaty Forest - or much closer to home?

Carla Banks grew up in a scholarly family. Her father, an eastern-european cavalry officer, came to the UK as a wartime refugee where he met and married her half-Irish mother. He told his children stories of his childhood in a country that had been destroyed by the war. Carla Banks has been an academic for most of her working life and is fascinated by the power of language. She lives in the north of England and now writes full time.

Praise for "The Forest of Souls." 'A haunting legacy of war' Frances Fyfield 'Banks! has managed to bring disturbingly alive the history of the Stalinist terrors and the brutal Nazi persecutions' Daily Mail 'A satisfying crime novel' TLS 'A breakthrough book... watch out for Carla Banks' Observer