The house sitter - Peter Lovesey

The eighth Peter Diamond Mystery, also introducing Hen Mallin, from Peter Lovesey's award-winning series.

Shortlisted for the Barry Award.

At first everyone presumes that the woman behind the windbreak is asleep. It is only when the tide comes in, lapping at her feet, that the horrific crime is discovered.

The woman is identified as Emma Tysoe, top psychologist and criminal profiler. Bath detective Peter Diamond and DCI Hen Mallen are desperate for answers: why was she sun-bathing alone so far from home? Where is the murder weapon? What happened to the man who found her?

When they discover that Emma was secretly investigating the assassination of a celebrity, the case seems tantalisingly near to a close. But as a cold and calculating killer shakes their grasp, even Diamond struggles to make all the pieces fit.