Innocent Blood

P. D. James · first published 1980 · ISBN 9780140129595

This standalone novel follows two threads that converge. A young woman, adopted since birth, discovers her birth mother is alive and tracks her down. Meanwhile, her adoptive father, a respected academic, knows something about the birth mother's mysterious past. When a neighbor is murdered, the threads entangle with the woman, her birth mother, and questions of guilt and innocence that have nothing to do with the crime itself.