Art of Death (The Mindful Detective, Band 1)

A complex murder case requires an unconventional detective to solve it . . .

When a famously narcissistic performance artist is found floating in a tank of formaldehyde at her own private view, suspicion falls on those closest to her.

Leading the murder investigation is DI Shanti Joyce, recently transferred from London to Yeovil following the collapse of a case that went wrong. She soon concludes that the mystery requires left-field thinking, and when a colleague at the station suggests Vince Caine, aka the Mindful Detective, Shanti tracks him down to his remote cabin at Lyme Regis.

The pair delve into the artist's Bohemian circle and discover a hotbed of resentment and jealousy stretching all the way back to her scandalous art school days in Falmouth. But as they soon realise, the murderer is both canny and elusive - someone with a warped motive who will do anything to point them elsewhere - and leave Shanti's reputation in tatters again.