Anyone who knows me will tell you that I cherish my unmarried state. I'm female, twice divorced, no kids and no close family ties. I'm perfectly content to do what I do . . .

It was two days after Christmas when Kinsey Millhone received the bank slip showing a credit for five thousand dollars.

The account number was correct but Kinsey hadn't made the deposit.

Then came the phone call and suddenly everything became clear. The frame-up was working and Kinsey was trapped . . .

`Grafton on form yet again' The Times

`Grafton crafts a crazy, credible puzzle with jigsaw finesse' Sunday Times

`An unusually compelling series of novels with a notably convincing central character' Guardian