Close to the Cradle

International bestseller Nova Lee Maier delivers another gripping thriller about the darkness that lies in wait in unexpected places.

Deeply vulnerable after a traumatic birth, new mother Didi Vos is depending on her maternity nurse to help her heal. But despite her uniform, Hennequin Smith is no nurse, and healing couldn’t be further from her mind.

Though beautiful on the outside, Hennequin harbors ugly motives; slowly and subtly, she sets about her plan to gain Didi’s trust and then ruin her life. And when Miriam de Moor—a police investigator who suspects Hennequin played a role in her brother’s sudden death six months earlier—unearths horrifying secrets about Hennequin’s past, the destinies of the three women become chillingly linked and will come to a head in a thrilling, unforgettable climax.

Nova Lee Maier is a pseudonym of Dutch bestselling author Esther Verhoef, whose psychological thrillers and novels have sold more than 2.5 million copies in the Netherlands. Esther has received more nominations and awards than any other thriller writer in the Netherlands, including the NS Publieksprijs (NS Audience Award/Prix Public); the Diamanten Kogel (Diamond Bullet); the Hebban Crimezone Award for best crime thriller of the year for Close to the Cradle; and the prestigious Gouden Strop (Golden Noose) Award for best crime thriller of the year for Mother Dear, which is available in English. Her books Close-Up and Rendezvous are also available in English. For more information, visit www.novaleemaier.com and www.estherverhoef.com.

Alexander Smith studied modern and medieval languages at Cambridge University and has lived and worked in the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea. He won the Royal Netherlands Embassy Prize, and his previous translations include Esther Verhoef’s Rendezvous. His work has also been published in the International Herald Tribune, the Observer, and the Art Newspaper.