The Tulip Eaters

In a riveting exploration of the power the past wields over the present, critically acclaimed author Antoinette van Heugten writes the story of a woman whose child’s life hangs in the balance, forcing her to confront the roots of her family’s troubled history in the dark days of World War II…

It’s the stuff of nightmares: Nora de Jong returns home from work one ordinary day to find her mother has been murdered. Her infant daughter is missing. And the only clue is the body of an unknown man on the living-room floor, clutching a Luger in his cold, dead hand.

Frantic to find Rose, Nora puts aside her grief and frustration to start her own search. But the contents of a locked metal box she finds in her parents’ attic leave her with as many questions as answers—and suggest the killer was not a stranger. Saving her daughter means delving deeper into her family’s darkest history, leading Nora half a world away to Amsterdam, where her own unsettled past and memories of painful heartbreak rush back to haunt her.

As Nora feverishly pieces together the truth from an old family diary, she’s drawn back to a city under Nazi occupation, where her mother’s alliances may have long ago sealed her own–and Rose’s—fate.

Reviews

Praise for Antoinette van Heugten's debut, Saving Max

‘A high-speed chase of a novel, Saving Max is like the best of John Grisham with a feminine twist.’
—New York Times bestselling author Eileen Goudge

‘Antoinette van Heugten combines the tender, unshakable bond between mother and son with an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thriller.’
— International bestselling author Diane Chamberlain

‘Parents of children with serious behavior problems will find their worst nightmares come alive in van Heugten's debut murder thriller…[with] more than one harrowing twist toward the end…’
—Publishers Weekly

‘Saving Max is an amazing story that horrifies, grips and electrifies the reader, who will be rooting for Danielle through every rapidly turned page. Author Antoinette van Heugten clearly knows what she's talking about and tells it oh so very, very well!’
—The Best Reviews

‘Saving Max is a thriller that combines elements of both Robin Cook and John Grisham to provide a satisfying story that kidnaps the reader’s imagination and doesn’t let go until the very end.’
—Blogcritics

About the author

A former international trial lawyer, van Heugten spent 15 years practising all over the world, primarily in Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as in Houston, her hometown. She's a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, where she earned her undergraduate and law degrees.
The Tulip Eaters is van Heugten's second novel. Her debut novel, Saving Max, was a USA Today bestseller, translated into six languages and received much critical acclaim.