The Mindful Detective
3 total works
'Quirky, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable' Kate Ellis
'A super start to the series' Frances Brody
'An entertaining murder mystery . . . witty' L C Tyler
Buddhism, love, art and murder - welcome to the world of the Mindful Detective
When a famously narcissistic performance artist is found floating in a tank of formaldehyde at her own private view, suspicion falls on those closest to her . . .
Leading the murder investigation is DI Shanti Joyce, recently transferred from London to Yeovil following the collapse of her marriage and a case that went wrong. She soon concludes that the mystery requires left-field thinking, and when a colleague at the station suggests Vince Caine, aka the Mindful Detective, Shanti tracks him down to his remote cabin on the Undercliff at Lyme Regis.
The pair delve into the artist's Bohemian circle and discover a hotbed of resentment and jealousy stretching all the way back to her scandalous art school days in Falmouth. But as they soon realise, the murderer is both canny and elusive - someone with a complex, warped motive who will do anything to point them elsewhere.
Has Shanti made the wrong decision enlisting the unconventional and enigmatic Caine? Can the unlikely mix of her down-to-earth pragmatism and his otherworldly intuition really prove a winning combination?
Or will a killer escape justice and leave Shanti's reputation in tatters?
'Quirky, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable' Kate Ellis
'A super start to the series' Frances Brody
'An entertaining murder mystery . . . witty' L C Tyler
Live music... and explosive death in front of an adoring audience - welcome to the world of the Mindful Detective . . .
When Ethan Flynn, charismatic vocalist of supergroup Stigma, is electrocuted by his own guitar in front of 175,000 witnesses on the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival, suspicion falls on his tyrannical twin, Tyrone.
Leading the murder investigation is Buddhist detective, Vincent Caine, and his partner, DI Shanti Joyce. To Shanti's consternation the pair have become known as 'the go-to team for weird stuff in the West Country' and few crimes come weirder than this. Amidst the pulsating beats of the festival, the unlikely duo struggle to untangle the wildly conflicting statements of minders, lovers, drug-fuelled roadies, and dodgy divas.
Against the mystical backdrop of Glastonbury Tor and the tiny Somerset village of Kilton, the terrifying trail leads Shanti and Caine from clairvoyant Tarot readings to the cryptic lyrics of a lost song, cunningly concealed by the tragic superstar.
Can the unlikely mix of Shanti's down-to-earth pragmatism and Caine's intuitive sleuthing skills solve this most singular of murders? Is the future of the world's greatest festival in peril? And what happens when two consummate professionals are forced to share a tent in the steamy heat of summer?
'Quirky, compelling and thoroughly enjoyable' Kate Ellis
'A super start to the series' Frances Brody
'An entertaining murder mystery . . . witty' L C Tyler
'This quirky, fast-paced crime mystery is magically entertaining' - Dundee Courier
A dazzling dawn breaks over the Stonehenge midwinter solstice, where the assembled new-age revellers are horrified to discover a green-painted human hand dangling from beneath a mound of snow, high on one of the stone lintels.
Leading the investigation into this peculiar death is DI Shanti Joyce and her partner, Vincent Caine. To Shanti's chagrin the pair have become known as 'the go-to team for weird stuff in the West Country' and this festive fatality is the mother and Father Christmas of odd and ritualistic crimes.
Amidst the swirling flurries of Salisbury Plain, the unlikely duo discover that the deceased is none other than Hector Lovell-Finch, the eccentric Earl of Lovell Court, known to all as 'Finch' - and who also happens to be the father of the notoriously right-wing MP, Quentin Lovell-Finch.
It is no secret that relations between father and son have become decidedly frosty since Finch's acrimonious divorce from Quentin's mother, his conversion to environmentalism, and second marriage to an indigenous Brazilian environmentalist half his age. Now there is the icy issue of who will inherit the ancient Lovell-Finch Estate.
To make things more complicated, single mum Shanti has faithfully promised her son, Paul a magical Christmas with all the trimmings. Can this most knotty of English murders be untwined in just five days? And will the unlikely detective duo celebrate the season with merriment, mindfulness and mistletoe?
Praise for Laurence Anholt
'... A quirky, surprising read... it transports you to the heart of Glastonbury festival... 5*' UK Crime Book Club
'...Startlingly original and funny' Sidmouth Herald