The sleep of birds - Sara Macdonald

Dartmoor has a unique beauty, but it is also dangerous in its remoteness. Alone there with her husband Jake, Sigrid Watson lives a daily nightmare as his charm and warmth turn to anger and violence. When she gets her chance to escape, it's only by a hair's-breadth that she makes it. Resident with friends in St Ives, Sigrid starts to paint again, gradually forgetting Jake's contempt for her work. A new lover, Matt, brings into her life the warmth that has been missing. But the nightmare is not over. Jake is watching. Jake can't bear to see anyone else grow close to his wife. When Matt is found dead, Sigrid knows at once who is behind it. She starts to wonder about the mysterious death of the man she loved before Jake. And she begins to fear not only for her own life but for the lives of everyone around her...