Flight of the Turner

When a priceless family heirloom goes missing during a small private dinner party, Mel must find the culprit, and the painting, before Lord Jonathan and Lady Laura return home.

Despite their moment of passion, Mel and Derrin are now estranged because there is still too much anger. Still trying to find her place as a 'Greenway' in the new world, Mel holds a small reunion soirée for her pre-war friends at Avonby while Lady Laura and Lord Jonathan are away in London for the season. Mel invites Derrin to try and patch up their relationship. But when a priceless Turner painting disappears from Jonathan's study, Mel learns there is a thief at Avonby.

With Derrin's reluctant assistance, Mel locks in the guests and servants. No one is getting out until the painting is returned. But where has the culprit hidden it, and why? Locked in together, the real motives, nature, and resentment of her guests begin to emerge. Mel learns how little the Greenways are liked by the locals. She is forced to hide her increasingly debilitating illness from them, even as they surround her like a pack of feral wolves. A short flashback hints at the cause of Mel's war-induced trauma.

As the truth comes to light, and a shock reveal brings Mel face to face with the culprit, she realises there are more enemies than friends in Avonby's close-knit community, and there are those willing to do anything to get revenge - even commit murder.

Flight of the Turner by Samantha Lee Howe is an intriguing mystery novel that keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the very end.