Verdict on Winter

In order to gain experience for a starring role in a forthcoming series, actress Phyllida Moon had taken a temporary job with private eye Peter Piper. She so enjoyed sleuthing in character she now alternates the two careers.

The agency is approached by a woman who has discovered that her art-expert brother, on the staff of a local gallery, is receiving anonymous letters accusing him of involvement in the faking of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Phyllida is able to provide all-day surveillance which puts her at the heart of David Lester’s life: in the mornings she becomes his new part-time housekeeper, appointed by his sister to cook and clean for him during her temporary absence from the house they share. And in the afternoons, she transforms into the glamorous American widow working as temporary receptionist at the gallery.

But Phyllida’s investigations turn from fraud to murder when, as the housekeeper, she discovers a dead body, forcing her to tell the investigating chief superintendent that she is not what she seems.

DCS Maurice Kendrick has no relish for amateurs, but he is a realist and reluctantly ask Phyllida to retain her unique positions . . .

The second title in a series featuring the unique and immensely likeable Phyllida Moon.