Murder in Hampstead by Sabina Manea

A locked-room mystery about a seemingly impossible crime

When lawyer-turned-interior designer Lucia Steer accepts a lucrative job renovating Beatrice Hall, a large house owned by a professor in a north London suburb, she has no idea of the impact it will have on her career.

No, not a full page spread in Vanity Fair, but the repercussions of her employer dropping stone dead during an afternoon party.

It is clear the victim was poisoned. But how? And by whom? Occurring pretty much in a closed room, anyone there could have been responsible for the murder.

When clumsy detective David Carliss turns up to investigate, he is overwhelmed and out-gunned by the high profile people at the party. Any of whom might, apparently, want the professor dead.

Lucia’s over-inquisitive nature and legal training leads her to offer Carliss a helping hand. And her eavesdropping and foray into amateur sleuthing will be invaluable. Especially as Lucia is used to getting her way and even more driven when she doesn’t.

MURDER IN HAMPSTEAD is the debut novel by Sabina Manea. It is the first standalone mystery in a series and the second title, MURDER ON THE HEATH, will be out soon.

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