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The Colours of Murder

A Susie Mahl Mystery

Published by Point Blank
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

‘This is a well paced and exciting read. More please!’ Alexander McCall Smith

‘It's a rare talent that creates a work that is both whip smart, fast paced and at the same time gloriously genteel. Carter is that talent.’ Amanda Prowse

The second Susie Mahl Mystery. If only death came with a warning…

Flirtatious American blonde, Miss Hailey Dune, should never have accepted a summer weekend invitation to Fontaburn Hall. But when the Honourable Archibald Cooke Wellingham’s gentrified house party are woken, in the early hours of Sunday morning, it’s too late: Miss Dune’s blood is on their hands.

With the aid of well-mannered Detective Chief Inspector Reynolds, intelligent Sergeant Ayari and loyal friend Dr Toby Cropper, Susie Mahl, on a timely commission drawing six racehorses nearby, seizes the opportunity to play detective for a second time. Her inquisitive nature, tenacity for truth and artist’s eye for detail make her ideally suited to the task in hand, but is she getting carried away by her previous triumph - even to the extent of endangering her reputation and her burgeoning relationship with Toby?

Enriched with candid observations of the British social classes, insights into the artist’s craft, and a strong dose of good humour, The Colours of Murder is a welcome return of Ali Carter’s amateur sleuth.

About The Author

Ali Carter was born in Scotland and read art history at St Andrews. In 2011, she had a catastrophic cycling accident, and after a long recovery decided to follow her passion and become an artist. This experience serves as the basis for her novels, A Brush with Death (2018) and The Colours of Murder (2019).

Product Details

  • Publisher: Point Blank (May 2, 2019)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781786075611

Raves and Reviews

'This is a well paced and exciting read. More please!'

– Alexander McCall Smith

'It's a rare talent that creates a work that is both whip smart, fast paced and at the same time gloriously genteel. Carter is that talent.'

– Amanda Prowse

‘This whip-smart, pacey, yet at the same time effortlessly genteel Christie homage is a more than welcome return for Ali Carter’s artistic amateur sleuth Susie Mahl…. Susie is everything a cosy detective should be – absorbing, witty, warm, charming, funny and endlessly inquisitive. Carter has created a character Agatha Christie would be proud of – a sort of 21st century Jane Marple, although it is hard to imagine what that most correct and starchy lady would have thought about Susie’s passion for racy French silk underwear!’

– Crime Review

‘A Christie homage whose upper-crust humour targets readers who recognize the differences between a country house and a stately home.’

– Kirkus

‘Charming... I loved it.’

– Promoting Crime

Praise for A Brush with Death:

'A riveting, charming and very funny new crime series from the fabulously talented Ali Carter.' Piers Morgan

'A delicious new voice in crime writing... Excellent on the English aristocracy and written in a fine wry style.' Daily Mail

'Absorbing, charming and funny, A Brush With Death heralds a fresh and welcome new voice in crime writing. Susie Mahl is also a welcome new detective: witty, warm and very inquisitive.' Antonia Fraser

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More books from this author: Ali Carter