From the author of Night Train to Lisbon: a father's story about his daughter unravels "[a] tale of grief, fraud, guilt and madness... Revelatory" ( The New York Times Book Review).

Pascal Mercier's international bestseller Night Train to Lisbonmesmerized readers around the world, and was adapted into a film starring Jeremy Irons. Now, in Lea, Mercier returns with a mysterious tale of a father's love and a daughter's ambition in the wake of devastating tragedy.

It starts with the death of Martijn van Vliet's wife. Grief-stricken, his young daughter Lea retreats into the darkness of mourning. Then she hears the unfamiliar sound of a violin being played in the hall of a train station, and she is brought back to life-vowing to learn the instrument. Martijn, witnessing this delicate spark, promises to do everything in his power to keep her happy. But as Lea blossoms into a musical prodigy, her relationship with her father starts to disintegrate. Desperate to hold on to her, Martijn is pushed to commit an act that threatens to destroy them both.

A revelatory portrait of artistic genius and madness, Lea delves into the damaging power of jealousy as well as the poignant ways we strive to understand our families and ourselves.

A New York Times Book ReviewPaperback Row Selection