ABANDONED. mystery book about a group of men possibly in the 1920s taking pictures of dead girls- may be related to the Cottingley fairies

[Kerstin]

- I read the book in 2010, it was quite thin. It might have been a few years older than 2010, but not earlier than 2000, I think.
- It might have been by Random House since I think I got hold of it at Heyne publishing, and it was in English. So it could have been one of their English branches
- it was a mystery/ crime novel for adults
- I remember it's about a girl (and maybe a man, a detective?) trying to find out about a group of sophisticated men who take/create pictures of dead girls. It's very much "Cottingley fairy"-style, though I mean to remember the pictures were not meant as fake fairy pictures, but rather pornographic. There's no gross pornograpic descriptions though. But since it makes me think a lot about the fairy pictures, I think it was settled in the 1920 roughly. Experimenting with early photography is one of the themes in the book.
- I remember a scene where this one girl exhaustedly is running from one of the men, through a field, and trying to hide in some bushes.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Do they kill the girls before taking photos? Or are the girls just dead from natural causes?

[Kerstin]

I don't remember, I'm afraid. I don't think it was natural causes though- the detective is after them, so either stey were stealing corpses, or killing them. But I don't recall any murder scenes. As far as I remember, the detective studies the pictures, and slowly the horrible suspicion is forming that the girls in the pictures might not be asleep, but dead.

[Andria]

Camera?

[Kerstin]

what do you mean?

[Rosa]

Is your book Camera, which you can view by clicking the link in Andria's post?

[Andria]

Thanks, Rosa. I guess I wasn't clear.

From the summary of Camera: "In 1905, Jacob is apprenticed to Herbert Burrows who photographs the séances of the Theosophist Society. Among the members of the society is Reverend Charles Leadbetter, who also employs Burrows for an altogether more sinister task. Intrigued by the possibilities of photography, Leadbetter secretly uses young children in experiments to capture the soul on film as it leaves the body. When Leadbetter's scheme is discovered it leads to further deceit and murder.

The true story is gradually pieced together from Johanna's research and Jacob's own account, leading to a chilling discovery in the Thames..."

[Rosa]

You were perfectly clear, Andria.

[Kerstin]

Now I get it, thank you :) (I hadn't realized the title was a link). It sounds quite similar to the book I am searching for, but neither the title nor the author do sound familiar at all. I don't think this is it!

[Rainbowheart]

Still looking, Kerstin?

[Kris]

No response, moving to Abandoned folder.

Kerstin (OP) last posted in the group in May 2018.