When an amateur dramatic society begins rehearsing a midwinter production of Cinderella, murder lurks in the wings. And the killer is definitely no Prince Charming.

In Jill McGown's masterful new novel, the continuation of her acclaimed British police procedural series starring Detective Chief Inspectors Lloyd and Hill, real-life crime engulfs the domestic life of the Riverside Theatre players. For starters, there's the violent death of Estelle Bignall, the beautiful, neurotic wife of a well-to-do doctor (and the Riverside company's aspiring playwright). In truth, suicide seemed more Estelle's line, especially during the Christmas holidays—but a thief saved her the trouble, stealing all the presents and leaving her bound, gagged, and suffocated.

Yet DCIs Lloyd (he of the unknown first name) and Judy Hill, partners in both crimesolving and romance, refuse to buy the break-in scenario. Instinct tells them that Estelle's murder is far more complicated. At the crime scene there are too many footprints, too many fingerprints, too much conflicting evidence— and too many suspects: an elusive burglar, a sinister next-door neighbor, the victim's secret lover, a scared kid with fresh bruises on his face.

But which of them was desperate enough to commit murder? What dark motives connect Estelle's demise with the impending theatricals? And will Lloyd and Hill be able to crack the case before murder most foul turns Cinderella into the bloodiest drama this side of Macbeth?

The answers await in Scene of Crime, as Jill McGown raises the curtain on her most ingenious psychological thriller to date.