The first novel in the Lindsay Gordon series. Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon is strapped for cash. Why else would she agree to cover a fund-raising gala at a girls' public school? But when the star attraction is found garrotted with her own cello string minutes before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder. Who would have wanted Lorna Smith Cooper dead? Who had the key to the locked room in which her body was found? And who could have slipped out of the hall at just the right time to commit this calculated and cold-blooded crime? Praise for Val McDermid: "The real mistress of psychological gripping thrillers; no one can plot or tell a story like she can." DAILY EXPRESS "The Queen of Crime reigns." INDEPENDENT 'McDermid remains unrivalled . . . Brilliant' OBSERVER "With the deaths of PD James and Ruth Rendell, Val McDermid is the obvious successor as Britain's Queen of Crime. For me, she has already held that title for many years." THE TIMES "McDermid still writes with the telltale verve that's won her the accolade queen of psychological thrillers." GUARDIAN "No one rivals Val McDermid's skill at writing truly terrifying thrillers." GOOD HOUSEKEEPING