Susan Gilruth – författare

In a tranquil Kentish village, Dr Sandys and his wife are preparing for Christmas with their guest, Liane 'Lee' Crauford. Festivities start badly when their party is spoiled by an enigmatic widow new to the village, and the atmosphere hits rock bottom when the pompous local nobleman and ceramic-collector Sir Henry Metcalfe unexpectedly dies. Sensing potential villains among Metcalfe's circle, Lee teams up with Detective-Inspector Hugh Gordon to discover the killer playing merry hell with her holiday in this lost vintage mystery, republished for the first time since 1952.

From the moment that Liane “Lee” Crauford and her husband Bill arrive in the Cornish fishing village of Poltruan, it’s obvious that something is wrong. There’s a storm brewing off the coast and in the house of the Cazalets, Liane's friends, too. At its centre is Sandra, the beautiful but spoilt daughter of Noel Cazalet, who resents her new stepmother, and is simultaneously neglecting her fiancé while flirting outrageously with her cousin. She’s also quarrelled with an old friend of her father and has somehow aroused the hostility of Toni, the temperamental and jealous wife of film director Kenneth Osborne.So, when Sandra is found dead, washed up on the beach after a party, there are plenty of suspects. Thankfully, former schoolmaster turned detective Hugh Gordon, who’s on holiday in the village, is on hand to start asking the questions – aided by Liane, his ‘Mrs Watson’ and new best friend. Can the unlikely duo unravel the mystery? Or will their growing feelings for each other get in the way?