Deftly Wrapped

by Pauline Manders

DEFTLY WRAPPED - First book in The Hatter Street Private Investigation Agency Series. Danger lurks around every corner, or it is just a state of mind?

Chronically suspicious Pember Quinn is the new private investigator in Bury St Edmunds. But when retired detective inspector Clive Merry pays Pember a social visit, he finds his old friend overwhelmed by illness and flooded by cases. Keen to help, Clive volunteers to assist on what appears to be an open and shut fatal SCUBA diving accident.

As Clive wrestles with the limited powers of playing PI, he quickly realises he'll need to call in favours from his old police contacts. Meanwhile, his old friend isn't what he used to be - scarred by his time in the military police, and troubled by gangland threats to his life.

Over the course of one week, Pember and Clives' investigations uncover lies and obfuscation from their clients. And as secrets unravel, trust and friendship become paramount to survival.

It rests on Pember to break a syndicate and solve another killing, but how can he when nothing is what it seems?

DEFTLY WRAPPED is a British detective novel based in rural Suffolk UK. Written in British / UK English.

322 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2024

About the author

Pauline Manders was born in London where she went on to train as an ENT surgeon. She moved to East Anglia with her husband and two children, where she worked for over 30 years before retiring from the NHS. She lives in rural Suffolk in a converted barn and gains inspiration for her crime novels by walking in the countryside with her Weimaraner, Otto. Since retirement, she has had time to write, pursue her shared interest with her husband in classic cars, and also attend a local carpentry group. She is still working on carving three diving ducks as legs for a small table - some projects are more of a challenge than others!