The Paperback Sleuth - The Ashram Assassin

Humorous cosy-crime caper in which a feisty, amoral book dealer uses her unique skills to catch a murderer, desperate to hide the secrets kept by the yoga-obsessed staff and students of a West London ashram. When a set of rare, impossible-to-find yoga books are stolen from a West London ashram, its leaders turn to Cordelia, the paperback sleuth, to recover them - a set-up that's a little awkward as they've previously barred her from yoga classes for selling marijuana to their students. But what begins as a hunt for missing paperbacks soon becomes a murder investigation as those involved with the ashram can't seem to stop dropping down dead - murdered with a whisky bottle to the head or a poisoned curry. Can Cordelia work out who the killer is and bring them to justice before they bring an end to her sleuthing for good.

Andrew Cartmel was born in London and grew up in midwestern Canada where, among other things, he learned the meaning of the words 'wind chill factor.' The fine public libraries of his childhood provided a rich feast (Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, the Oz books) and Andrew never wanted to be anything except a writer. On returning to London to study at university, his game plan was to support himself writing for television while getting established as a novelist. This led him into a detour - and down a rabbit hole - which included a distinguished sojourn script editing Doctor Who for three years (search 'Cartmel masterplan'). At the same time, he began writing for comics and today he co-writes the Rivers of London graphic novels. A playwright and crime novelist, Andrew created the Vinyl Detective while listening to a lot of music, most of it good. Most of it very good. Andrew Cartmel lives in London with too many books, too many records and just enough cats.