The Riddle of the River: No. 4 (Vanessa Duncan S.) - Tapa dura

'The story goes down smoothly, seasoned with wit and intelligence and made out of unusual and interesting ingredients...a clever concoction'LITERARY REVIEW

In 1898, enjoying the sunshine in the garden of her Cambridge shire home, Vanessa Weatherburn is startled by the abrupt arrival of her long-time friend, the journalist Patrick O'Sullivan. Eager to discover the identity of a young woman found floating in the River Cam in order to get a scoop for the local newspaper, Pat has called on the one woman he is sure will be able to solve the mystery. Over recent years Vanessa has garnered a reputation for solving crimes - including murders, thefts and blackmail attempts - but never before has she been faced with the problem of identifying a victim, as well as a murderer. She is at a loss to know where to begin.In desperation, Vanessa agrees to go to London to attend a seance meeting, but has little hope of gathering any important information. Yet to her astonishment, she hears the medium cry out, 'Murder, murder, grisly murder!' Can the flamboyant woman really connect with the spirit of the dead, or are there other, more mysterious and deadly ways of communicating secret information? Forced to go undercover to continue her investigation, helped along as always by the cream of Cambridge's academic community, Vanessa employs all the skills she has learnt over the past years to reel in the murderer - but will it be enough to solve the river's riddle? Beautifully written and thoroughly researched, this latest case for the talented Mrs Weatherburn proves to be her most perplexing yet.