Room of Glass

In the secluded Writers' House on the Northumberland coast, a course for aspiring authors titled "Literary Dissection: How to Write a Short Detective Story" is being held. For a whole week, participants will hone their skills and devise a flawless murder plot. It’s no surprise that one evening, a body of one of the instructors is found on the balcony with a frozen grimace of horror on his face. Nearly everyone in the house had a reason to wish death upon Tony Ferdinand, but only Joanna Tobin was seen with a knife in hand next to the murdered man. By a happy coincidence, she is a close neighbor and friend of Inspector Vera Stanhope, who hasn’t had to solve complex cases in quite some time. It soon becomes clear that the woman has been framed by the real criminal. But how to identify the murderer among those who make a living writing perfect crimes?