When Clara Fitzgerald, Brighton's first female private detective, is invited to the wedding of her cousin Andrew Campbell, she expects it to be a rather dull weekend. The Campbells, however, are far from dull with proto-feminist Peg fighting with her stepmother and Susan Campbell on the verge of suicide. Matters are not helped by the arrival of the black sheep of the family, who is determined to ruffle everyone's feathers. But on the day of the wedding, events rapidly go wrong. A mysterious woman turns up at the ceremony, claiming Andrew is already married to her. When the woman winds up dead, Andrew is the prime suspect. Clara unravels Andrew's past, while contending with a family falling apart. But Clara must face the possibility that she has more than one killer on the loose. This is the third audiobook in the Clara Fitzgerald series, set in 1920s England.
Brighton 1920. Clara Fitzgerald is trying to earn a little respect as the first female private detective in Brighton, when Mrs Wilton turns up on her doorstep one snowy day. Struggling to get by since the war, Mrs Wilton has been convinced by an unscrupulous clairvoyant that her dead husband is trying to make contact via strange riddles that supposedly lead to hidden treasure. Clara is quickly on the case to prove the notorious clairvoyant, Mrs Greengage, is nothing more than a scam-artist, extorting money from Mrs Wilton. But after an unpleasant seance, Mrs Greengage is found with a bullet in her chest and Clara is rapidly a suspect as one of the last people to see her alive. There is no option but to unravel the mystery for herself, taking on the biggest case of her life, much to the consternation of the local police inspector. Soon Clara is discovering Mrs Greengage's dark past, her involvement in a previous murder case and her husband's strange talents. Why won't Mr Greengage leave his house? Why was Mrs Greengage's sherry laced with strychnine when she was shot to death? And just who is the man stalking Clara? Helped by her brother Tommy, a cripple since the Great War, and portrait photographer Oliver Bankes who takes crime scene pictures for the police in his spare time, Clara sets out to prove who the real killer is. But little does she realise how emotional challenging discovering the truth will be.
Clara Fitzgerald is drawn to the reckless but charming Captain O'Harris and his daring attempt to cross the Atlantic in his biplane, 'White Buzzard'. O'Harris is drawn to Brighton's first female detective because of a family mystery that has long haunted him. Can Clara discover the truth about the death of Goddard O'Harris and the reason his body mysteriously vanished? Torn between her feelings for Captain O'Harris and exposing the truth, Clara must unravel a decade old puzzle that will change everyone's perceptions of the O'Harris family. What was the real nature of Goddard's relationship with his wife? What secrets does the affable Colonel Brandt hold? Was Goddard murdered or was it a dreadful accident? And could the killer still be alive? Delving into the underbelly of 1920s Brighton society, Clara braves personal threats and her own fears to reveal the truth about the Goddard O'Harris mystery.
