Mystery: Peter Straub

High society and the desires of the rich are usually satisfied on the tiny Caribbean island of Mill Walk. But Tom Pasmore has a boyish yen to play detective, and he befriends his neighbour Lamont, who was once a renowned amateur sleuth. But Tom's passion for murder cases is making waves - for Mill Walk is a place where murders are tidied up like so much litter, and some very powerful people prefer it that way. The 1925 murder of Jeanine Thielman at Eagle Lake is Tom's pet fascination and when Tom gets a chance to have a holiday there, he succeeds in annoying a lot of people very rapidly. His love affair with Sarah, who is already earmarked for marriage to a son of Mill Walk's most powerful family is bad enough. But when Tom starts his investigation into the Thielman murder, he is in real danger of uncovering the dark secrets of those who own and run Mill Walk. Cover art by Alun Hood.