Nights In White Satin' by Michelle Spring
At the Cambridge May ball, on a warm balmy magical evening in June, amidst champagne, smoked salmon, music and laughter, young, pretty Katie Arkwright disappears.
In this, the forth in the series featuring Laura Principal, Private Investigator, Aardvark Investigations had been retained to repel gatecrashers and maintain security at the Cambridge May Ball. Following the disappearance, Laura is retained by Stephen Fox, senior tutor at Bart's to find the missing girl.
Whilst pursing her investigations into Katie's disappearance, a murder and an unexplained death unfold. Both shocking. Are they related to the missing girl? Could the solutions be locked in the past?
The writing in this book is beautiful, Michelle descriptive powers brought the scenes to life, I was there. At all times during the story, the weather is hot, I felt this heat, and the beauty of Cambridge. The contrasts of life she portrays are so vivid. Some of the settings invoked a time gone by, and when Laura goes punting with her friend Helen down the river to Grantchester for a picnic, it brought to mind Stands the church clock at ten to three, and is there honey still for tea'.
This is a book full of full of beauty, violence, sadness, pain, and emotional conflict. It's also about choices, and the guilt that comes from fast actions that we think will solve an immediate problem and then we find that we maybe cannot live with them. also the resulting pain.
It's also a first class mystery, which I urge you all to read. This is not just highly recommended, it's a must.
Lizzie Hayes 15 May 1999