Лучшие книги Марка Экклстона

Жизнь Астрид удалась: она реставрирует картины в Национальной галерее и живет свою лучшую жизнь с мужем в Лондоне. Но все меняется в одночасье: сначала развод, а потом… загадочное наследство в Дорсете. Астрид не раздумывая отправляется на запад, но по прибытии обнаруживает, что получила в наследство не симпатичный коттедж у моря, а старую лодку. Еще и на новой работе совсем не клеится. Сначала выясняется, что «Английский фонд», в поместье которого трудится Астрид, — самый настоящий рассадник интриг, а потом в округе и вовсе находят убитым местного жителя. Астрид берется за расследование дела, ведь для нее это все равно что…

When London art restorer Astrid Kisner's marriage unravels in spectacular fashion, she has no idea what to do. Then she finds out she has inherited a property in Dorset. She doesn’t hesitate in packing in her job and heading west. But when she gets there, she discovers the property isn't a pretty cottage by the sea, but a leaky boat on a muddy estuary.

Her new job at a nearby National Trust stately home brings a few surprises, too. Rather than a genteel charity, the Trust is a hotbed of politics and intrigue. As her new friend Kath from the village says, 'It's like the mafia, but with scones.' So when a local man is found murdered there, there are more than a few suspects. Astrid thinks she's perfectly placed to solve the case: it's like restoring a painting, slowly peeling back the layers to reveal the clear, true picture beneath.

But as the suspicious deaths mount up and the threat draws closer, Astrid has to use every gadget in her restorer's toolkit to solve the mystery, save her reputation - and maybe even her life.

Теперь уже опытный детектив-реставратор расследует новое дело на самом дружелюбном английском острове!
Пришвартовавшись в бухте Ярмут, Астрид Свифт понимает, что скучать ей точно не придется. В особняке Нидлс-Ай, куда ее позвали оценить реставрационные работы целой коллекции полотен, кроются страшные тайны прошлого. Жители замерли в ожидании самого известного фестиваля мореплавания. А еще кто-то убил местного активиста.
А вот Астрид… Астрид умудрилась найти новых друзей в «Клубе любителей искусства и расследований», и вместе они уж точно не упустят возможности разобраться, так ли на самом деле дружелюбен остров Уайт.

Amateur sleuth Astrid Swift swaps the sporting summer in England for a British expat enclave in Spain, where everyone has a mysterious reason for leaving the UK. Amidst the sun and sangria, something sinister is lurking on the Spanish coast... It's the end of the summer season in the harbour town of Estepona. The holidaymakers are heading home, leaving the British expats to reclaim their little corner of paradise. Art restorer Astrid Swift has sailed into town to reunite with her estranged father, but has instead been tasked with catching an internet troll who's been threatening his wife. Soon Astrid is entwined in the lives of all the expats, from the boozy local heckler to the socially awkward beachcomber. And then she discovers a body in the bunker of the golf course... Can Astrid uncover the 'Costa del Troll' behind the poison-pen campaign before they reveal everyone's secret past? Or will they tear this cosy community – including Astrid and her father – even further apart?

Amateur sleuth Astrid Swift investigates a maritime mystery in this cosy crime adventure set on the Isle of Wight. The sailors are ashore, and murder is afoot. It's summer in the Isle of Wight, and the islanders have little more to do than munch crab sandwiches, sip pints of Wight Squirrel, and complain about the hordes of tourists arriving for the world famous Cowes Week regatta. But when the local busybody drowns in the harbour, what was set to be a relaxing sailing festival starts to turn deadly. Art restorer Astrid Swift realises she has stumbled on a fresh case that only she and her new art-club friends can solve. Soon she is embroiled in an investigation involving a grand seafront mansion, a dead billionaire's nautical paintings, and a sailing prodigy who mysteriously went missing at sea three years ago. As the deaths stack up, and Astrid confronts ever more dangerous suspects, the Isle of Wight's reputation for being England's friendliest island is put to the test...