The clockmaker's daughter

"A rich, spellbinding new novel from the author of The Lake House - the story of a love affair and a mysterious murder that cast their shadows across generations, set in England from the 1860's until the present day"-- Summer, 1862. A group of young artists led by Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. By the end of their stay, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Radcliffe's life is in ruins. Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river. -- adapted from back cover