A daughter's grief . . . A mother's madness . . . And a daring act of love that defied every law . . .

"The best mystery writer anywhere in the English-speaking world."-The Boston Globe

Mopsa, driven by a past scarred by madness and violence. Benet, stricken by the most grievous loss any woman can bear. Carol, trapped in a life of crushing drabness no lover can change. Three mothers joined by a single thread of terror, whirled into a spiral of kidnapping, murder, and a final, reckless affirmation of love.

Praise for The Tree of Hands

"A consummate artist who commands style, plot and character . . . A storyteller of a high order."-Washington Post

"An excellent piece of suspense writing."-San Diego Union

"Densely plotted, deeply emotional . . . The design of this book is brilliant. . . . It moves forward in a series of inexorable events that leave the reader panting from suspense and shaken from the sheer emotion of it all."-Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Here is Ruth Rendell at the top of her form-topping it, in fact, with a suspense chiller enchanted by a contemporary topicality that strikes to the heart."-Judith Christ