`My name is Kinsey Millhone. I'm a licensed private investigator . . . thirty-two, twice divorced. I like being alone and I suspect that my independence suits me better than it should . . .'

Kinsey met Bobby Callahan in the gym on Monday morning.

His story was hard to credit: a murderous assault by a tailgating car on a lonely rural road, a roadside smash into a canyon 400 feet below, his Porsche a ruin, his best friend dead, and his memory severely impaired. He was convinced someone was trying to kill him.

By Thursday, he was dead.

But Kinsey wasn't going back on a deal. She had been hired to prevent a murder. Now she was looking for the murderer . . .

`Quiveringly alive' Daily Telegraph

`C is for classy, multiplex plotting, strong characterization and a tough cookie heroine' Time Out

`She has guts, humour, and conscience. . . alphabetically speaking, we can look forward to 23 more Kinseys' The Times