The Colors of Murder — Ali Carter

If only death came with a warning… Flirtatious American blonde, Miss Hailey Dune, should never have accepted a summer weekend invitation to Fontaburn Hall. But when the Honourable Archibald Cooke Wellingham's gentrified house party are woken, in the early hours of Sunday morning, it's too late: Miss Dune's blood is on their hands. With the aid of well-mannered Detective Chief Inspector Reynolds, intelligent Sergeant Ayari and loyal friend Dr Toby Cropper, Susie Mahl, on a timely commission drawing six racehorses nearby, seizes the opportunity to play detective for a second time. Her inquisitive nature, tenacity for truth and artist's eye for detail make her ideally suited to the task in hand, but is she getting carried away by her previous triumph - even to the extent of endangering her reputation and her burgeoning relationship with Toby? Enriched with candid observations of the British social classes, insights into the artist's craft, and a strong dose of good humour, The Colours of Murder is a welcome return of Ali Carter's amateur sleuth.