One of the best war stories you'll read this year, this compelling narrative begins in London in 1995. An elderly woman visits a West End art gallery and what happens there unlocks an avalanche of harrowing memories of the holocaust. For the protagonist Marriane Bromberg, this forces a confrontation with long forgotten nightmares. The survivor's claim for her birthright, a Picasso portrait. To secure it, she has to travel back into the heart of darkness that was Belsen and Auschwitz. Peltz has a gift for graphic depiction of wartime horrors, matched only be a talent for first-rate storytelling. The mystery of the code, at the heart of this tale, will keep you hooked to the very last page. Available from The Book Guild, 25 High St, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2LU and selected bookshops.