Description: The body of a young man, almost naked, found in the car park behind a Haworth restaurant marks the beginning of the case, and it is his identity that is the first puzzle for DC Charlie Peace and his superior, Detective Superintendent Oddie. But before long the puzzle that most concerns them is the nature of the close-knit artistic community where Declan O'Hearn had acted as odd-job boy. The little knot of people seem united less by their ability as painters than by a common worship of the distinguished artist Ranulph Byatt, who seems to prefer the adulation of his inferiors to the judgement of his equals. Peace soon starts to wonder if there isn't a sinister reason for this. And as the search for the killer gathers pace, Peace and Oddie uncover a series of dark secrets in the harsh Haworth landscape.
Brief description: Robert Barnard (1936-2013) was awarded the Agatha Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Nero Wolfe Award, and the Macavity Award. An eight-time Edgar nominee, he was a member of Britain's distinguished Detection Club, and in May 2003, he received the Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in mystery writing.
Review Quotes: "San Francisco Chronicle Book Review" Barnards writes revealing glimpses of English character and impropriety with an effortless hand.