Painter Palaver
by Curtis Bausse
Great place to stay. Shame about the corpse. A country house. Two hosts, eight guests, food, wine and sun. And a dead body. Everyone turns into suspects as secrets emerge, relationships suffer, and motives multiply like mosquitoes. In spite of herself, Sophie is soon dragged into an investigation as strange and intense as the heatwave oppressing them all - including the hapless Captain Eveno, inescapable ally, ardent adviser and persistent pain in the neck. Tongue-in-cheek homage to Agatha Christie, Painter Palaver is a modern drawing room mystery where truth and lies swap places and perhaps only the goldfish really knows what happened - unless he's just another red herring.