When the body of a woman in evening dress is discovered in the upstairs bedroom of a suburban house, DI Meldrum is summoned to the scene of what is to become his most baffling murder case yet. On closer inspection, the corpse turns out to be that of a man, Brian Ashton, a prominent member of Edinburgh's financial establishment. The house where he's been found belongs to Ashton's wife from whom he's been separated for over three years. What he was doing there remains a mystery. Henry Stanley, a local academic who's put his skills at the service of a number of murder enquries, comes up with a profile of the killer as a woman, and one who might kill again. Meldrum's investigations of Brian Ashton's life and background lead him to a handsome small estate on the city's outskirts. As the hot summer goes by, Meldrum moves towards a solution which may have unwelcome implications for him both personally and professionally.
Frederic Lindsay has written for the theatre, radio, TV and film. He has served on the Literature Committee of the Scottish Arts Council, and is actively involved with PEN and the Society of Authors. He has written four highly-acclaimed Edinburgh-based DI Jim Meldrum thrillers.
The ability to create believable heroes out of policemen is rare, and Lindsay's Detective Inspector Jim Meldrum is both credible and endearing . . . A complex and satisfying crime novel
The Sunday Times on A KIND OF DYING
Well-written, well paced and well plotted . . . Jim Meldrum's company has again proved to be as thought-provoking as it is entertaining
The Scotsman on A KIND OF DYING
An evocative and brilliant opening . . . Intelligent, entertaining, gripping and well-written
Ian Rankin, Scotland on Sunday (KISSING JUDAS)
Lindsay has used a genre often concerned with entertainment only to write a profoundly serious novel, as Chandler and Ross Macdonald did in California half a century ago
Allan Massie, The Scotsman (KISSING JUDAS)