Back to the Coast - Saskia Noort

MARIA has money problems, two children from a failed marriage and a depressive boyfriend. So when she gets pregnant again, she decides not to keep the baby. This is where we come in. She s still feeling groggy and depressed but is sure she s made the rig

MARIA has money problems, two children from a failed marriage and a depressive boyfriend.

So when she gets pregnant again, she decides not to keep the baby.

This is where we come in. She's still feeling groggy and depressed but is sure she's made the right decision.

Then the letters start to arrive. Threatening letters from someone who knows about the abortion - something she thought was a secret.

At first she thinks they must be from pro-life activists, but then she begins to suspect others, even her boyfriend.

She flees to her family home, where her sister now lives. Isolated, set in the dunes of the Dutch coast, redolent with memories of a difficult childhood with a mentally-ill mother - a childhood she does not want to revisit.

As the death threats follow her to her hiding place, Maria begins to fear not only for her life but her sanity.

Back to the Coast (�8.99, Bitter Lemon) is a suspenseful Dutch murder mystery from Saskia Noort which can be read in one sitting.

Maria is a vulnerable, but eventually strong and likeable heroine - an ordinary woman caught up in an extraordinary nightmare.

It could certainly be adapted for a one-off TV thriller.

- LINDSAY JONES