From Publishers Weekly
Smart talk, savvy sleuthing and a lively pace propel this spirited first mystery. Yorkshire tax inspector Leah Hunter is 25, tough, and she works out. When a stranger collapses in her arms outside an art gallery, Leah asks another gallery visitor to call an ambulance, but he, "a Chinaman in a grey suit," only smiles and walks away. John Thorne expires, thrusting his catalogue into Leah's hand. As Leah probes Thorne's tax files, her apartment is burgled, her car is set on fire and she is run over by a motorcyclist; Thorne's probation officer disappears and some paintings are stolen from the gallery. Clues in the catalogue, hidden identities and the Chinaman figure in the resolution to this fairly complicated caper. Sharp, but not biting, Leah Hunter is often laugh-out-loud funny, usually during verbal duels with Nicholls, the cop she fancies and with whom she eats the fish and chips that send her back to the Nautilus machines. A nicely balanced debut.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Yorkshire tax inspector Leah Hunter's got an attitude, and no wonder. Ever since she ducked into her local art gallery to get out of the rain and struck up an acquaintance with John Thorne, who died on the way out, it's been one thing after another. Person or persons unknown burgle her flat, mug her and get away with her catalogue from the gallery, set fire to the garage with her car inside, try to run her over twice (with a motorcycle, then a Ford Capri), toss her place again, and plant a bug inside. It's almost a relief when Detective Sergeant Nicholls, who's got a cute tush, arrests her after discovering two amateurish stolen paintings in her attic. He doesn't know that the puzzle includes drugs, a smuggling ring, and a probation officer who's gone AWOL himself. A few too many felonies and lowlife suspects, maybe, but Leah is a winner--a likable new female sleuth with the smartest mouth on her since Archie Goodwin. --
Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.