The Colours of Murder, Paperback

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.

Ali Carter was born in Scotland and read art history at St Andrews. There followed an eclectic career in investment management, retail and technology; then in 2011 she had a catastrophic bicycling accident. After major brain surgery and a long recovery, Ali set herself a challenge to walk alone from Canterbury to Rome, a three-month pilgrimage she wrote about in her book, An Accidental Jubilee by Alice Warrender. From then she decided to follow her passion and become a fine artist, specialising in oil paintings from life with an emphasis on colour. Ali works from her studio in East Sussex and also draws pet portraits to commission. A Brush with Death is her first novel.