When a wealthy banker's daughter goes missing from Edinburgh University, Detective Inspector John Rebus has little to go on in his investigations. It's difficult to know whether she's dead or alive, whether she has been kidnapped or is simply on the run. Before long, however, Rebus has a hunch that there is more to this missing person's report than meets the eye. His first clue is found in the student's home village: it is a carved wooden doll lain inside a six-inch coffin.
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."---Randy Pausch A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow...