The Bad Quarto

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What to expect

'Jill Paton Walsh has created a Miss Marple for the 21st century' - Mirror
'A jewel in the traditional English detective mode . . . Ms. Morse has arrived' - Observer

Another foolhardy Cambridge college night climber has died attempting Harding's Folly. This time it's John Talentire, one of the brightest young dons at St Agatha's, and the verdict is accident, compounded by idiocy.

But college nurse Imogen Quy can't help wondering how such a clever young man died so stupidly.

And when a wildly eccentric production of Hamlet is interrupted by a murder accusation, Imogen investigates, uncovering more crime than she expected . . .

(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Critics Review

Formidable talent . . . not so much Reservoir Dogs, more agony aunt with the mind of Morse

Sunday Express

Jill Paton Walsh has created a Miss Marple for the 21st century

Mirror

This is a satisfyingly convoluted tale, involving a family tragedy that took place many years before, as well as some ingenious sleuthing on the part of Imogen.

The Times

A jewel in the traditional English detective mode . . . Ms. Morse has arrived

Observer

Imogen Quy positively sparkles on the page as an amateur sleuth

Sunday Express

Paton Walsh plots deftly and writes intelligently

Independent

In Imogen Quy, the author has created an admirable detective heroine, as unabashed as she is unaffected

Times Literary Supplement

Jill Paton Walsh demonstrates that the traditional ingredients of the woman sleuth, the academic background and a clever puzzle are still capable of being arranged into an entertaining and stimulating crime novel

Manchester Evening News

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