Catherine Sampson introduced us to the captivating character of Robin Ballantyne in her critically acclaimed debut novel Falling Off Air. In Out of Mind we find her investigating the disaperance of a close friend and soon getting into situations that are dangerous and beyond her control. We thinks it is easily as good.l
In her second captivating outing, Robin Ballantyne finds herself drawn into the sinister depths of a chilling, controversial conspiracy...After a tumultuous year, Robin Ballantyne has happily returned to making documentaries for the Corporation. Her latest project: to research the stories of people who have disappeared...But when she begins asking questions about missing Corporation camerawoman Melanie Trent, Robin's work comes to the attention of one of her shadowy superiors, who attempts to warn her off. Why are the Corporation so desperate to keep this case under wraps? Did Melanie, disturbed by her first-hand experiences of war, engineer her own disappearance, or has someone 'removed' her permanently? Whilst Robin insists on hunting out the truth, her relationship with DCI Tom Finney is jeopardised by the return of his ex, her eccentric mother disappears to America to 'find herself' and her criminal father takes root where he's not wanted. With so much going on and the clock ticking, can Robin stay in control and out of danger?...
'Remember Sampson's name; it's about to become an important one in crime fiction' - Booklist
Author
About Catherine Sampson
Catherine Sampson started her career in the BBC and has worked as Beijing correspondent for The Times. She now lives in Beijing with her husband and three children. Out of Mind is Catherine’s second novel, following her remarkable debut, Falling Off Air.
'I grew up in London, Alsace in France, Plymouth and Coventry. I applied to study Chinese at university largely because very few people did so back then. In 1980, during my interview at Leeds University, I remember one of the lecturers telling me it was hardly a golden period in Chinese history, and that I shouldn’t expect to get a job with a degree in Chinese studies. He was right, of course. It would take years for China to emerge from the grim sixties and seventies to become the economic force that it is now. After studying Chinese at Leeds I was given a scholarship to go to Harvard University for a year, where I studied more about China. When I returned to England I joined the BBC world service and became a journalist (any resemblance to the Corporation where Robin works is, of course, purely coincidental). I have been back and forth to China since I was 19, first as a student in Shanghai, then as an English teacher in the subtropical coastal province of Fujian, then based in Beijing as the China correspondent for The Times.'
