The Painted Mask — Margaret Erskine

Sherry Fielden's life had been as serene and untroubled as her heart was untouched by passion, until Kenneth Dean asked to paint her portrait. But when Dean was found murdered Sherry was insidiously drawn into the tangled and twisted secrets of the dead man's past.

Jealousy, revenge and unanswered questions became the companions of the terrified girl. Why did Jeremy Hyde, the mysterious young man who suddenly appeared from nowhere, fill her with such conflicting emotions? Why did he probe so relentlessly into her relationship with Dean? Was it love for Sherry or a desire to make her the sacrificial victim of some terrifying retribution that would settle an old score between himself and the dead painter?

Drawn into the case, Inspector Finch discovers that a man can be just as evil in death as he was in life.