A Bed of Scorpions

What's an editor to do with so many demands? Do you deal with the morning's pile of manuscript submissions first? Or the swine from sales who steals all the chocolate digestives? Or do you concentrate on your ex-lover, whose business partner has just been found dead in their art gallery, slumped over his desk with a gun in his hand? It's another day at Timmins & Ross publishing house, but when sharp-tongued editor Samantha Clair's CID boyfriend is brought in to investigate Frank Compton's death, her loyalties become stretched. And when one of Aidan Merriam's artists is found dead in identical circumstances, Sam takes on the art world and the CID, armed with nothing more than her reliable weapons: satire, cynicism and a stock of irrelevant information culled from novels. 'This witty crime caper . . . is a delight from first page to last' N. J. Cooper 'Whip-smart and devious' Louise Penny

Judith Flanders was born in London and brought up in Canada. She worked for various publishing houses for nearly twenty years before becoming a writer. Her books include A Circle of Sisters, which was nominated for The Guardian First Book Award, and The Victorian House, which was shortlisted for The British Book Awards History Book of the Year. She also writes about the arts, and is a regular contributor to publications including The Times, Wall Street Journal, Sunday Telegraph, TLS and theartsdesk.com. judithflanders.co.uk @JudithFlanders