Description:
Private investigators build a case on shaky foundations
Quentin Cadbury's early morning run raises his heart rate more than usual when he discovers an injured dog. More so because next to the animal is the dead body of its male owner.
The police turn up - quickly, for once - and secure the scene. Quentin takes the dog home to nurse it back to health. An arrangement his resident cat won't appreciate.
But when a journalist tells him that the victim had been about to divulge secret information about goings-on in the property market, Quentin's curiosity gets the better of him.
Shrugging off concerns that they themselves are being followed, Quentin and his partner, the delectable Wanda Merrydrew, can't resist investigating further.
They stake out a suspicious estate agent dealing in luxury homes. Yet when the journalist goes missing, the case becomes very real indeed.
The Mystery of the Perfect Property is a humorous cozy mystery by Christine McHaines, the fifth book in a popular, easy-to-read series. The full list is as follows:
1. The Mystery of the Hidden Fortune
2. The Mystery of the Lucky Cat
3. The Mystery Down Under
4. The Mystery on the Cornish Coast
5. The Mystery of the Perfect Property
This novel will appeal to fans of Rachel Ward, Anita Waller, T.A. Williams, and Traude Ailinger.
Brief description:
Born in the maritime city of Portsmouth, books and libraries were Christine's mainstay during her formative years. As a teenager she enrolled in night classes to learn to type, something she is grateful for since she began writing novels. She has worked for the Telephone Service, now British Telecom, as a receptionist in her husband's hairdressing salon, then with her husband again running a busy sub post-office. These roles have given Christine an invaluable insight into the lives of many different people.
After having her two daughters, she worked for the civil service until she retired. Throughout these years she wrote poems and short stories, some winning competitions and one being aired on radio. Following the birth of grandchildren who have serious health concerns she got heavily involved in charity work, and became a governor of a school specialising in teaching children with disabilities.
Now enjoying the relatively slower pace of life in Cornwall, Christine has been able to follow her life-long ambition to become a novelist. Her cosy crime series, featuring a young, somewhat inept detective, Quentin Cadbury, and his female partner, Wanda Merrydrew, is deliberately light-hearted. In Christine's own words, 'Life can be full of darkness, disappointments and disasters. People deserve some escapism from the real world.'
Apart from novels Christine writes for two local magazines. And when she's not writing or reading, she enjoys classical and popular music, gardening, the theatre and watching the surfers from Cornwall's idyllic beaches.