A Kiss Goodbye // The Woman in the Painting

To Robert Carr, Anna is a mystery. She has always been an enigma and that's the way he'd like her to stay. Over the past thirteen years, his imagination has fed on his last, parting image of Anna; kissing her goodbye before she turned to leave. And that image has been the inspiration for a number of his paintings. Now, through his work, Anna's likeness has become famous, everybody recognises her face, whilst the woman herself disappeared long ago. But a TV documentary hopes to rectify that and launches a nationwide search for the elusive muse.

Robert's world, held together by the illusion of his lost lady, is threatened by the flesh and blood reality of Anna. What if she is nothing like he remembers, if she destroys the fantasies he's created about her? Will he ever be able to paint her again? And Anna herself is unwilling to dragged from the shadows into the media spotlight for reasons of her own. But it is soon too late; she has been found. Whilst her discovery has resulted in a creative block for Robert, it has far more deadly consequences for Anna.

A darkly compelling novel that delves into the pits of obsession and the pain of coming to terms with the naked truth.