Thus Was Adonis Murdered - (Hilary Tamar) by Sarah Caudwell (Paperback)

About the Book

The first mystery in Caudwell's popular series featuring amateur investigator Hilary Tamar and a cast of clever and trouble-prone young London barristers. When a young man is found dead in Julia Larwood's bed, her barrister friends are the only ones who can uncover the truth of this masterpiece of murder.

Book Synopsis

A young woman accused of murder while on holiday in Venice enlists a friend to come help her--but once they begin unraveling clues, there's no telling what else will come to light.

"Sarah Caudwell is one of my very favorite mystery writers."--A. J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

His was a body to die for . . .

Set to have a vacation away from her home life and the tax man, young barrister Julia Larwood takes a trip to Italy with her art-loving boyfriend. But when her personal copy of the current Finance Act is found a few meters away from a dead body, Julia finds herself caught up in a complex fight against the Inland Revenue.

Fortunately, she's able to call on her fellow colleagues who enlist the help of their friend Oxford professor Hilary Tamar. However, all is not what it seems. Could Julia's boyfriend in fact be an employee of the establishment she has been trying to escape from? And how did her romantic luxurious holiday end in murder?

Don't miss any of Sarah Caudwell's riveting Hilary Tamar mysteries:
THUS WAS ADONIS MURDERED - THE SHORTEST WAY TO HADES - THE SIRENS SANG OF MURDER - THE SIBYL IN HER GRAVE

Review Quotes

"A tour de force . . . a hilarious comedy of manners."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"An absolutely delightful mystery--erudite, witty, believable."--The Arizona Daily Star

"Witty . . . clever . . . an elaborately plotted, very English and charming story."--Publishers Weekly

"Caudwell's light touch and the puzzle she presents make for a diverting tale."--The Washington Post Book World

"A finely honed, icily witty gem of detective fiction."--Mystery News

About the Author

Sarah Caudwell, the pipe-smoking author of Thus Was Adonis Murdered and three other novels featuring Oxford Don Hilary Tamar, died in 2000. "Hilary's voice was in my head before any of the plots," Caudwell told writer Martin Edwards in an interview for Mystery Scene. "I knew from the outset Hilary must be an Oxford don--but of equivocal sex and even equivocal age, resembling that precise, donnish kind of individual who starts being elderly at the age of twenty-two."