Death Has A Thousand Doors
SynopsisPlot
Jane Burns, an Australian accountant, is a recovering alcoholic with a troubled past. When she receives a letter inviting her to visit Andorra for the winding-up of her grandfather's multi-million dollar trust, she jumps at the opportunity to leave her humdrum life and troubles behind. She expects to stay with her half-sister, Pearl, a photo journalist who moved to Andorra to escape an abusive marriage, but on her arrival Pearl is missing without explanation. The only clue to her whereabouts is an unlikely welcoming gift to Jane of a bottle of champagne.
Story
About this book
Jane Burns is an Australian accountant trying to rebuild her life after alcoholism when a letter arrives about her grandfather's multi-million dollar trust. The legal matter requires her presence in Andorra, the small landlocked country high in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. Jane plans to stay with her half-sister Pearl, a photojournalist who relocated to Andorra after leaving an abusive marriage. But when Jane arrives, Pearl is gone without explanation.
The only trace Pearl has left behind is a bottle of champagne addressed to Jane, an unsettling welcome gift for someone in recovery. From this starting point the story follows Jane as she tries to locate her sister in a country she does not know, while also navigating the legal complications of her grandfather's estate. The setting places the action in the late 1990s, a period when Andorra was still transitioning from its older economy built around duty-free trade and tourism into a more regulated financial environment.
Patricia W Grey uses Andorra's compact geography and relative isolation as a backdrop for the disappearance. With a population of roughly 65,000 and an area smaller than many cities, the country offers few places to hide and few directions to run.
