Cirrus@Austlit

'In the frosty Melbourne winter, milliner sleuth Catherine Kint looks for distraction in a night at the circus.

'When tragedy strikes, she and her barman Boris are drawn into a new mystery.

'As they draw back the metaphorical curtain, they’re confronted with a troop in chaos, a culture of secrecy and a family in crisis.

'Add in hula hooping thugs, a desperate suspect and a nihilistic bully and you have a recipe for carnage even Catherine can’t control.

'Oh, and then there’s Boris’ love life – send in the clowns, in Silks' (Publication summary)

'Shenanigans at the beach seem a fine idea to Catherine and friends at the height of an Australian summer, however the discovery of a body in the water kicks sand in their plans.

'With the town of Ocean Grove in the grips of a by-election, and the police investigation lagging - at least in Detective Britt Houden's eyes - the scene is set for a coastal rollick as Catherine and company overturn various rocks to uncover a killer.

'Add in a troupe of seahorse poachers, a ranting eccentric, and some hardened criminals and you have a holiday cocktail of chaos and chips.

'There's plenty of time for fun though. After all a woman's entitled to a holiday.' (Publication summary)

'A night at the Melbourne Zoo drinking champagne seems a fine idea, until an animal's death throws milliner and sleuth Catherine Kint into another mystery. Before you can say 'monkey business' Catherine and her trusted barman Boris are annoying everyone from zoologists to police. The investigation would challenge the best detectives, but this is Catherine and Boris on the case. Secrets, accidents, rivalries, egos and lust all set the dung flying. By the time this is finished, reputations will be tarnished, gin will be drunk and someone's gonna get fed to the lions ... or some other carnivore.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

One Spring morning a woman is found dead in a Melbourne laneway adorned with symbols of the occult. Catherine Kint, milliner, gin enthusiast and raconteur, has no reason to be involved until her friend is under investigation. Armed with her sharp wit, a crime scene background and a barman named Boris, Catherine walks into a world of new age prophecies, curses and money. Honestly, it would drive a girl to drink.' (Publication summary)

Private investigator and milliner, based in Melbourne.