The Waves Behind the Boat — Francis King

In a remote corner of Japan an Englishwoman is drowned by a freak tidal wave. Bill, a young university lecturer, and his wife Mary are asked by the Consul to identify the body. On their arrival in the seaside village they are met - and befriended - by Bibi Akulov, the immensely rich White Russian in whose house the dead woman was staying. For the English couple it is the start of a complex and unnerving relationship with Bibi and her mysterious brother Sasha - a relationship which reveals the darker side of the Akulov household, and involves Mary in an increasingly brutal exploration of her own secret nature.