Crime Fiction Book of the Month 2007

No Suspicious Circumstances

 

This first investigation finds DJ Smith, undercover officer for HM Revenue and Customs and her trained sniffer cat Gorgonzola, on the trail of a heroin smuggling ring operating in and around Edinburgh. Their first port of call is the White Heather Hotel, owned by the formidable Morag Mackenzie who rules her domain – and her spineless husband – with steely efficiency. And it is in these comfortable surroundings that DJ pursues her dangerous undercover work encountering a cast of memorable characters including American golfing fanatic Hiram J Spinks, the glamorous Italian Signora Gina Lombardini, and the not so glamorous self-styled gastronome extraordinaire Felicity Lanelle, a plump lady of majestic proportions and flamboyant manner, prepared to stop at nothing in pursuit of the perfect recipe.

Beneath the innocent surface of the country house hotel eddies a sinister undercurrent.  One death follows another.  Which of the guests specialises in making murder look like accident?  The killer waits a chance to strike as sea mists swirl round the ruins of Tantallon Castle and night falls on Cramond Island. A deadly game of wits is played out on the lonely Isle of May, and reaches a climax amid the sand dunes bordering the internationally renowned Muirfield golf course.

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Published by Allison & Busby