A private eye infiltrates a health spa in this witty crime novel from the CWA Silver Dagger Award–winning author of The Birth of Venus Dead carp floating in the Jacuzzi isn't the latest youth and beauty elixir for the elite patrons of Castle Dean spa, and owner Olivia Marchant is desperate to find the culprit before she loses all her clients. London PI Hannah Wolfe is plucked, crimped, steamed, and oiled while trying to uncover a spiteful saboteur who isn't above putting maggots in the yogurt and nails in the massage heads. Olivia also wants the sleuth to look into a series of threatening notes someone has been sending her husband, Maurice. Celebrity plastic surgeon Maurice Marchant has left some very disgruntled former patients in his wake. Women who have gone under his knife are now coping with less-than-perfect liposuction, drooping faces, and breast enlargements that went south. And when the case morphs into murder, Hannah confronts an embarrassment of suspects with means, motive, and opportunity. Tracking a killer while running surveillance on her sister's potentially philandering husband takes Hannah out of her comfort zone and into a rarefied world where appearances aren't just deceiving-they're deadly. The quest for beauty is taken to diabolical lengths in this smart thriller from New York Times–bestselling author Sarah Dunant-a must-read for fans of Kinsey Millhone and Philip Marlowe. Under My Skin is the 3rd book in the Hannah Wolfe Crime Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
"Hannah, with a self-described 'attitude problem,' is a witty, and competent PI . . . very much her own woman."
Publishers Weekly
"Dunant's trademarks - polished style, satirical social commentary, and creative plottingare evident. . . . A keep-'em-guessing plot, dry wit, and a revealing look at society's expectations about beauty and youth make this one an entertaining and educational read."
Booklist
"A fictional voice that is as barbed and wisecracking and lucid and laid-back as Chandler's . . . What Dunant does brilliantly is to use the thriller for the novel of ideas."
